From Extreme to Mainstream: The Erosion of Social Norms

Leonardo Bursztyn, Georgy Egorov and Stefano Fiorin

American Economic Review, 2020, vol. 110, issue 11, 3522-48

Abstract: Social norms, usually persistent, can change quickly when new public information arrives, such as a surprising election outcome. People may become more inclined to express views or take actions previously perceived as stigmatized and may judge others less negatively for doing so. We examine this possibility using two experiments. We first show via revealed preference experiments that Donald Trump's rise in popularity and eventual victory increased individuals' willingness to publicly express xenophobic views. We then show that individuals are sanctioned less negatively if they publicly expressed a xenophobic view in an environment where that view is more popular.

JEL-codes: D72 D85 Z13 (search for similar items in EconPapers)
Date: 2020
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Citations: View citations in EconPapers (139)

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DOI: 10.1257/aer.20171175

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