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The Influence of Church on Voting Behavior, Economic Development and Crime

Research Project

Project/Area Number 23KJ1421
Research Category

Grant-in-Aid for JSPS Fellows

Allocation TypeMulti-year Fund
Section国内
Review Section Basic Section 07040:Economic policy-related
Research InstitutionOsaka University

Principal Investigator

KUGAEVSKAIA ELIZAVETA  大阪大学, 国際公共政策研究科, 特別研究員(DC2)

Project Period (FY) 2023-04-25 – 2025-03-31
Project Status Granted (Fiscal Year 2023)
Budget Amount *help
¥1,000,000 (Direct Cost: ¥1,000,000)
Fiscal Year 2024: ¥500,000 (Direct Cost: ¥500,000)
Fiscal Year 2023: ¥500,000 (Direct Cost: ¥500,000)
Keywordsvoting behavior / church / religion / mood / protest
Outline of Research at the Start

The goal of this project is to uncover how religious institutions affect behavior of individuals in different social spheres. I examine the influence of church as an organization on voting behavior, economic development and gender-based violence in an understudied context of Eastern Orthodox Church. To conduct these analyses, I construct a novel panel of church location and foundation year.

Outline of Annual Research Achievements

Following the research plan for the first year, I investigated the relationship between church network expansion and electoral outcomes by employing difference-in-differences methodology. In particular, I collected data on church location and foundation year and examined how an increase in the number of churches affects vote shares for parties of different political orientation and turnout. My findings suggest that in urban districts with more churches vote share of the conservative party decreases and part of it goes to the communist party.
I further proceeded with the plan for the second year, modifying some aspects due to the current political situation making it difficult to access data on websites hosted inside the country. (1) In addition to the influence of church, I examined how mood affects voting behavior by exploiting variation in clock time around time zone borders on electoral outcomes and using regression discontinuity design. I find that to the west of the border where the sun rises and sets at an earlier clock time turnout increases, especially in the morning, with additional votes going to the incumbent party and president. (2) Defining violence more broadly, I acquired data on different types of protests to examine how religion influences participation in protests in the second year.

Current Status of Research Progress
Current Status of Research Progress

1: Research has progressed more than it was originally planned.

Reason

In addition to the main analysis I planned for the first year, I was able to proceed to the plan for the second year, modifying some aspects due to the current political situation making it difficult to access data on websites hosted inside the country. (1) In addition to the influence of church, I examined the influence of mood on voting behavior by exploiting a discontinuous change in time zones at municipal borders. I find that to the west of the border where the sun rises and sets at an earlier clock time turnout increases, especially in the morning, with additional votes going to the incumbent party and president. (2) Defining violence more broadly, I acquired data on different types of protests to examine the influence of church on the incidence of protests in the second year.

Strategy for Future Research Activity

In the second year, I plan to further extend my research of the impact of mood on voting behavior due to circadian rhythm disruption induced by time zones. I will investigate mechanisms behind the increase in turnout and incumbents' vote shares to the west of time zone border where the sun rises and sets at an earlier clock time. I plan to collect and analyse (1) Google Trends data related to mood, (2) data on weather and climate.
With the data on different types of protests I acquired in the first year, I will examine how religion influences participation in protests by exploiting variation in location and timing of the construction of new churches and employing difference-in-differences methodology.

Report

(1 results)
  • 2023 Research-status Report
  • Research Products

    (1 results)

All 2023

All Presentation (1 results)

  • [Presentation] Church and Voting Behavior: Evidence from Russia2023

    • Author(s)
      KUGAEVSKAIA ELIZAVETA
    • Organizer
      日本経済学会
    • Related Report
      2023 Research-status Report

URL: 

Published: 2023-04-26   Modified: 2024-12-25  

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