Reprisals Remembered: German-Greek Conflict and Car Sales during the Euro Crisis

Hans-Joachim Voth and Vasiliki Fouka

No 9704, CEPR Discussion Papers from C.E.P.R. Discussion Papers

Abstract: Limited attention and selective memory are important forms of cognitive bias. We investigate how present events trigger selective recall, thereby changing economic behavior. The 2010-14 sovereign debt crisis in Greece created massive political conflict between the German and Greek governments. During the same period, German car sales declined sharply. Effects differed according to the actions of German troops during the occupation of Greece, 1941-44. Declines in German market share were much larger in areas where the Germans carried out massacres. Current events can reactivate past memories selectively, even in the same country, having a large effect on purchasing behavior.

Keywords: Boycott; Car sales; German-greek relations; Political conflict; Sovereign debt crisis (search for similar items in EconPapers)
JEL-codes: D12 D74 F14 N14 N44 (search for similar items in EconPapers)
Date: 2013-10
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Citations: View citations in EconPapers (20)

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Working Paper: Reprisals Remembered: German-Greek Conflict and Car Sales during the Euro Crisis (2015)
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