Can social welfare buy mass loyalty?

• 成果类型: Article
• 署名作者: Yang, Wenhui; Shen, Xiaoxiao
• 署名单位: University of Texas System; University of Texas Austin; Princeton University
• 刊物名称: GOVERNANCE-AN INTERNATIONAL JOURNAL OF POLICY ADMINISTRATION AND INSTITUTIONS
• ISSN/ISSBN: 0952-1895
• DOI: 10.1111/gove.12553
• 发表日期: 2021
• 关键词: political trust; POLICY; repression; VIOLENCE; legacy; REFORM; CHINA; preferences; transfers; pensions

摘要

Do social welfare benefits enhance political legitimacy in nondemocracies? Conventional wisdom treats material interest as being the central mechanism underpinning widespread political attitudes, but social welfare is not always effective in garnering political support in nondemocracies. Using a regression discontinuity design, we find that even though receiving social welfare benefits has significantly improved individuals' well-being, their political support in different levels of government have not significantly grown. We demonstrate that the null effect of social welfare on political support can be partially explained by individuals' exposure to political violence before. Social welfare benefits yield a backsliding effect on local government support when individuals were exposed to high revolutionary intensity.