Reacting at the Threat of Disorder

2020 ◽  
pp. 57-73
Author(s):  
Jennifer Pan
Keyword(s):  
Collective Action ◽  
Field Experiment ◽  
Economic Hardship ◽  
Government Action ◽  
Social Instability ◽  
Government Responsiveness ◽  
Economic Considerations

This chapter describes an online field experiment conducted across 2,103 Chinese counties that establishes a causal linkage between the threat of disorder and government action in terms of responsiveness to Dibao applicants. Even extremely mild threats of collective action (social instability) prompted higher levels of government responsiveness to Dibao applicants than appeals based solely on economic hardship. The chapter shows how Dibao provision is not only shaped by economic considerations and suggests that individuals who are impoverished but capable of work may also be prioritized for Dibao.

scholarly journals Motivating the adoption of new community-minded behaviors: An empirical test in Nigeria

2019 ◽  
Vol 5 (3) ◽  
pp. eaau5175 ◽  
Author(s):  
Graeme Blair ◽  
Rebecca Littman ◽  
Elizabeth Levy Paluck
Keyword(s):  
Collective Action ◽  
Behavior Change ◽  
Field Experiment ◽  
Empirical Test ◽  
Text Message ◽  
Evolution Of Cooperation ◽  
Social Scientists ◽  
Psychological Theories ◽  
New Community ◽  
And Behavior

Social scientists have long sought to explain why people donate resources for the good of a community. Less attention has been paid to the difficult task of motivating the first adopters of these important behaviors. In a field experiment in Nigeria, we tested two campaigns that encouraged people to try reporting corruption by text message. Psychological theories about how to shift perceived norms and how to reduce barriers to action drove the design of each campaign. The first, a film featuring actors reporting corruption, and the second, a mass text message reducing the effort required to report, caused a total of 1181 people in 106 communities to text, including 241 people who sent concrete corruption reports. Psychological theories of social norms and behavior change can illuminate the early stages of the evolution of cooperation and collective action, when adoption is still relatively rare.

Politics, Power and a Pandemic: Searching for Information and Accountability During a Twitter Infodemic

2021 ◽  
pp. 193124312110574
Author(s):  
Benjamin R. LaPoe ◽  
Candi S. Carter Olson ◽  
Victoria L. LaPoe ◽  
Parul Jain ◽  
Allyson Woellert ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Social Media ◽  
Collective Action ◽  
Key Words ◽  
Government Action ◽  
The U.S

During the early weeks of the U.S. COVID-19 pandemic, society was battling an infodemic–defined as a “tsunami” of online misinformation. Through the lens of mediatization theory, this article examines 800,000 tweets to understand social media information and misinformation related to the COVID-19. Through multi-layered analysis, this article details prominent key words discussed on Twitter connected to pandemic trending hashtags in early-to-mid March 2020: #Covid19 and #Coronavirus. The most prominent word themes included: novelty of this virus and associated uncertainty and the spread of misinformation; severity and widespread reach of the virus; call for collective action; and expectations relative to government action. The article explains these findings through mediatization theory, applying how technology influences social media discussions.

Why Cooperate? The Incentive to Supply Global Public Goods. By Scott Barrett. Oxford and New York: Oxford University Press, 2007. 280p. $45.00.

2009 ◽  
Vol 7 (1) ◽  
pp. 155-156
Author(s):  
Kerry Whiteside
Keyword(s):  
New York ◽  
Collective Action ◽  
Public Goods ◽  
Free Riding ◽  
Global Public Goods ◽  
Government Action ◽  
Oxford University ◽  
Strong Case ◽  
Warning Light ◽  
Oxford University Press

Public goods, as economists use the term, are “nonrival” (one person's consumption does not make it unavailable for others) and, typically, “nonexcludable” (if the good is provided to one person, others cannot be prevented from enjoying it as well). The classic example is the lighthouse, whose warning light goes out to and benefits all ships. Economists devote special attention to public goods because markets do not deliver them efficiently. Rational, self-interested actors realize that if anyone else provides this good, they can have it without paying for it. The incentives favor “free riding.” Others, however, see the same opportunity and so public goods go underprovided. There is thus a strong case for collective action to furnish public goods. Where collective benefits outweigh the costs of provision, government action can make society as a whole better-off.

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