Research Details

Abstract

We use a six-decade long annual country-level panel dataset to document that recessions are more likely to cause political turnover in countries with lower levels of generalized trust. The effect is only present in democracies (not autocracies), for turnovers occurring through regular procedures (not coups), and during scheduled election years. We find similar effects for vote shares in national elections across sub-national regions within Europe and across counties within the United States. Furthermore, countries with higher trust experience more rapid recoveries from recessions. The results show that trust is an important determinant of political stability during recessions.

Type

Working Paper

Author(s)

Nancy Qian, Nathan Nunn, Jaya Wen

Date Published

2021

Citations

Qian, Nancy, Nathan Nunn, and Jaya Wen. 2021. Distrust and Political Turnover.