Political correctness and elite prestige*

Esther Hauk and Javier Ortega
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Esther Hauk: Institut d'Anà lisi Econòmica (IAE-CSIC), 90214Move and Barcelona School of Economics, Bellaterra (Barcelona), Spain

Journal of Theoretical Politics, 2025, vol. 37, issue 2, 122-155

Abstract: Consider a society where the prestige of orthodox views is linked to the prestige of the elite. Heterodox individuals are less likely to express their views if other peers refrain from doing so and if the elite is prestigious. In turn, corruption by the elite is less easily detected if orthodox views dominate. We characterize equilibrium self-denial and corruption and show that an exogenous increase in the range of orthodox views may result in a decrease in the total number of individuals truthfully expressing their views. Some features of the model are shown to be compatible with US data.

Keywords: Conformity; Overton window; political correctness; preference falsification; social pressure (search for similar items in EconPapers)
JEL-codes: C72 D7 Z1 Z13 (search for similar items in EconPapers)
Date: 2025
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Related works:
Working Paper: Political correctness and elite prestige (2023)
Working Paper: Political Correctness and Elite Prestige (2022)
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Persistent link: https://EconPapers.repec.org/RePEc:sae:jothpo:v:37:y:2025:i:2:p:122-155

DOI: 10.1177/09516298241304713

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