Social Changes in Impressionable Years and Adult Political Attitudes: Evidence From Jewish Expulsions in Nazi Germany

Abstract

This study provides evidence that individuals who grew up during the 1930's Jewish expulsions are less likely to show interest and participate in politics. The estimates imply that, at the mean, individuals in their impressionable ages at the time of the expulsions are about 13% less likely to be interested in politics and 26% less likely to participate in politics. These results are not found for individuals who were older at the time of the expulsions nor for those growing up during world War (WWII). Results are robust to fixed region and birth‐year characteristics, various definitions of impressionable ages, and composition bias induced by differential migration and mortality rates across regions and cohorts. The estimates are also not driven by other regional differences in 1930's political participation, party support, Catholic share, exposure and destruction during WWII, urbanization, and other regional characteristics. We provide evidence that the adverse effects on political attitudes we find are explained by a model of political participation emphasizing the role of civic skills and socioeconomic status acquired at younger ages. Exposure to the expulsions when young is associated with lower adult volunteerism, trust, church attendance, and socioeconomic status. (JEL O12, D72, D74, J15)

Peers’ Race in Adolescence and Voting Behavior

“…Socialization in early life influences one's personality, preferences, group identities and beliefs about politics (Madestam and Yanagizawa-Drott, 2012;Akbulut-Yuksel et al, 2019;Algan et al, 2019;Kaplan et al, 2019;Bergman, 2020;Billings et al, 2020). If racial diversity in one's school cohort shapes early life socialization, this constitutes another potential channel through which diversity can impact voting behavior and political preferences of adults.…”

Peers' Race in Adolescence and Voting Behavior

“…Socialization in early life influences one's personality, preferences, group identities and beliefs about politics (Madestam and Yanagizawa-Drott, 2012;Akbulut-Yuksel et al, 2019;Algan et al, 2019;Kaplan et al, 2019;Bergman, 2020;Billings et al, 2020). If racial diversity in one's school cohort shapes early life socialization, this constitutes another potential channel through which diversity can impact voting behavior and political preferences of adults.…”

“…Given the greater mal-leability of personality traits and preferences during adolescence, schools play a crucial role not only in transmitting knowledge, but also as a socializing force fostering civic engagement Justman, 2000, 2002). Many studies find that, unlike socialization during adulthood, early socialization has a durable effect on political attitudes and voting behavior Markus, 1977, 1984;Malmendier and Nagel, 2011;Madestam and Yanagizawa-Drott, 2012;Giuliano and Spilimbergo, 2013;Kim and Lee, 2014;Akbulut-Yuksel et al, 2019;Algan et al, 2019). For example, using historical data from post-WWII Germany, Akbulut-Yuksel et al (2019) show that the expulsion of Jewish professionals had long-lasting detrimental effects on the political interest and participation of Germans who were in their impressionable years (ages six to 23) during the Nazi regime, but not on adults.…”

“…Many studies find that, unlike socialization during adulthood, early socialization has a durable effect on political attitudes and voting behavior Markus, 1977, 1984;Malmendier and Nagel, 2011;Madestam and Yanagizawa-Drott, 2012;Giuliano and Spilimbergo, 2013;Kim and Lee, 2014;Akbulut-Yuksel et al, 2019;Algan et al, 2019). For example, using historical data from post-WWII Germany, Akbulut-Yuksel et al (2019) show that the expulsion of Jewish professionals had long-lasting detrimental effects on the political interest and participation of Germans who were in their impressionable years (ages six to 23) during the Nazi regime, but not on adults. The authors further demonstrate that these adverse effects can be explained by the social changes brought about by the expulsions, which led to lower adult socioeconomic status (SES) and lower civic skills for individuals in their impressionable years during that time.…”

Televisão, impressionable years e mercado de trabalho: evidência para o Brasil

“…A segunda vertente da literatura é a que estuda o impacto de longo prazo de experiências vividas nos impressionable years. Por exemplo, Akbulut-Yuksel et al (2019) fornecem evidências que indivíduos expostos na juventude à perseguição aos judeus pelos nazistas são menos propensos à participação política no futuro, e o mesmo não ocorre para indivíduos que eram mais velhos no momento das expulsões. Jeannet and Dražanová (2019) Por fim, este trabalho comunica com alguns estudos que mostram as modificações no mercado de trabalho brasileiro nas últimas décadas.…”