Repression and Response: A Study of Citizen Attitudes in China Open Access
Jackson, Cayleigh (Spring 2021)
Abstract
How does the use of repression affect the overall public attitudes of citizens toward their government? I propose that repression will change a citizen’s private attitudes and public attitudes differently. Publicly, attitudes will change to be more supportive of the government after repression due to fear and preference falsification, while privately, citizens will be more pessimistic and less supportive of the government, even if they are unwilling to publicly express that sentiment. I test for these attitude changes using a difference-in-differences design that accounts for preference falsification, looking at the aftermath of two specific repressive incidents in China in 2015. My overall results are mixed, with some support that citizens do publicly express more direct government support after repression.
Table of Contents
I. Introduction .....1
II. Literature Review ..... 5
The Use of Repression ..... 5
Preference Falsification ..... 7
III. Theory ..... 8
IV. Context ..... 11
Unrest in China ..... 11
The Government’s Balancing Game ..... 16
V. Data and Methods ..... 19
Case Context ..... 19
Data Sources ..... 23
Measuring Preference Falsification ..... 25
Dataset Overview ..... 29
Statistical Method ..... 36
VI. Results ..... 39
Yunnan ..... 39
Shanghai ..... 42
Additional Analysis ..... 45
VII. Discussion and Conclusion ..... 49
Limitations of the Data ..... 49
Moving Forward ..... 50
VIII. References ..... 54
IX. Appendix ..... 58
Yunnan Low-Income Expressed Support ..... 58
Yunnan Low-Income Actual Support ..... 59
Yunnan Middle-Income Expressed Support ..... 60
Yunnan Middle-Income Actual Support ..... 61
Yunnan Rural Expressed Support ..... 62
Yunnan Rural Actual Support ..... 63
Yunnan Urban Expressed Support ..... 64
Yunnan Urban Actual Support ..... 65
Shanghai Low-Income Expressed Support ..... 66
Shanghai Low-Income Actual Support ..... 67
Shanghai Middle-Income Expressed Support ..... 68
Shanghai Middle-Income Actual Support ..... 69
Shanghai Rural Expressed Support ..... 70
Shanghai Rural Actual Support ..... 71
Shanghai Urban Expressed Support ..... 72
Shanghai Urban Actual Support ..... 73
About this Honors Thesis
| School | |
|---|---|
| Department | |
| Degree | |
| Submission | |
| Language |
|
| Research Field | |
| Keyword | |
| Committee Chair / Thesis Advisor | |
| Committee Members |
Primary PDF
| Thumbnail | Title | Date Uploaded | Actions |
|---|---|---|---|
|
|
Repression and Response: A Study of Citizen Attitudes in China () | 2021-04-12 03:04:26 -0400 |
|
Supplemental Files
| Thumbnail | Title | Date Uploaded | Actions |
|---|