Covid-19 Crisis Fuels Hostility Against Foreigners

57 Pages Posted: 1 Jul 2020

See all articles by Vojtech Bartos

Vojtech Bartos

Ludwig Maximilian University of Munich (LMU)

Michal Bauer

Charles University in Prague - Institute of Economic Studies; CERGE-EI

Jana Cahlikova

Max Planck Institute for Tax Law and Public Finance; Charles University in Prague - CERGE-EI, a joint workplace of Charles University and the Economics Institute of the Czech Academy of Sciences

Julie Chytilová

Charles University in Prague - Department of Economics

Date Written: June 2020

Abstract

Aggressive behavior against out-group members often rises during periods of economic hardship and health pandemics. Here we test the widespread concern that the Covid-19 crisis may fuel hostility against people from other nations or ethnic minorities. Using a controlled money-burning task, we elicited hostile behavior among a nationally representative sample (n=2,186) in the Czech Republic, at a time when the entire population was under lockdown. We provide causal evidence that exogenously elevating salience of Covid-related thoughts magnifies hostility against foreigners – people living in the EU, the USA and especially Asia. This behavioral response is large in magnitude and holds across various demographic sub-groups. At the same time, we find virtually no effects on behavior towards domestic out-groups, including minorities and migrants. The results underscore the importance of not inflaming anti-foreigner sentiments and suggest that efforts to restore international trade and cooperation will need to address both social and economic damage.

Keywords: COVID-19 pandemic, scapegoating, hostility, inter-group conflict, discrimination, experiment

JEL Classification: C900, D010, D630, D910, J150

Suggested Citation

Bartos, Vojtech and Bauer, Michal and Cahlikova, Jana and Chytilová, Julie, Covid-19 Crisis Fuels Hostility Against Foreigners (June 2020). CESifo Working Paper No. 8309, Available at SSRN: https://ssrn.com/abstract=3618833 or http://dx.doi.org/10.2139/ssrn.3618833

Vojtech Bartos (Contact Author)

Ludwig Maximilian University of Munich (LMU) ( email )

Geschwister-Scholl-Platz 1
Munich, DE Bavaria 80539
Germany

Michal Bauer

Charles University in Prague - Institute of Economic Studies ( email )

Opletalova 26
Prague 1, 110 00
Czech Republic
+420 222 112 317 (Phone)
+420 222 112 304 (Fax)

HOME PAGE: http://ies.fsv.cuni.cz/index.php?module=kernel&action=user&id_user=183&lng=en_GB

CERGE-EI ( email )

Politickych veznu 7
Prague, 111 21
Czech Republic

Jana Cahlikova

Max Planck Institute for Tax Law and Public Finance ( email )

Marstallplatz 1
Munich, 80539
Germany

HOME PAGE: http://www.janacahlikova.net

Charles University in Prague - CERGE-EI, a joint workplace of Charles University and the Economics Institute of the Czech Academy of Sciences ( email )

Politickych veznu 7
Prague, 111 21
Czech Republic

Julie Chytilová

Charles University in Prague - Department of Economics ( email )

Opletalova 26
Prague 1, 163 00
Czech Republic

HOME PAGE: http://ies.fsv.cuni.cz/index.php?module=kernel&action=user&id_user=130&lng=cs_CZ

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