Early-life experience and political leaders' policy preference: Evidence from China's Zhiqing officials

被引:1
作者
Zhao, Renjie [1 ]
Zhong, Shihu [2 ]
Chen, Jie [3 ,4 ]
机构
[1] Northwest Univ, Sch Econ & Management, Xian 710127, Peoples R China
[2] Shanghai Natl Accounting Inst, Shanghai 201799, Peoples R China
[3] Shanghai Jiao Tong Univ SJTU, Sch Int & Publ Affairs SIPA, Shanghai 200030, Peoples R China
[4] Shanghai Jiao Tong Univ SJTU, China Inst Urban Governance CIUG, Shanghai 200030, Peoples R China
基金
中国国家自然科学基金;
关键词
Political leader; Political preference; Zhiqing; Send-down movement; China; SENT-DOWN YOUTH; HELP EVOLUTIONARY PSYCHOLOGY; LIVING STANDARD GUARANTEE; CULTURAL-REVOLUTION; ECONOMIC-DEVELOPMENT; UPPER ECHELONS; SPECIAL-ISSUE; CHILDHOOD; MOVEMENT; WELFARE;
D O I
10.1016/j.leaqua.2024.101796
中图分类号
B849 [应用心理学];
学科分类号
040203 ;
摘要
By exploiting both the unique institutional setting of the Chinese political system and the quasi-experimental features of a massive nationwide rural rustication movement in China during the 1960-1970s, this paper explores the relationship between leaders' early-life experiences and their policy preferences. Based on a unique panel data set of 318 regional units from 2003 to 2012, we find that those units are associated with more generous rural welfare programs when governed by zhiqing leaders, who experienced rural rustication during their early adulthood. We further find that this association becomes stronger when leaders spent more time in rustication or rusticated in places that were much worse developmentally than their hometowns. These findings remain consistent after applying various robustness checks and accounting for possible selection biases. We interpret these findings as evidence showing that emotional attachment, cognitive sympathy, deservedness justification and self-efficacy accrued through shared life experiences during the sensitive years of adolescence could have lasting effects in configuring leaders' late policy preferences when they come into power. Our findings lend support to the argument that a leader's early-life experience provides useful information to predict this leader's policy styles.
引用
收藏
页数:24
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