...Nicholas Eubank; Dorothy Kronick Theory predicts that social sanctioning can solve the collective action problem, but only when people find out whether their peers participate. We evaluate this prediction using data from the near-universe of cell phone subscribers in Venezuela. Those whose behavior...

... Comparative politics political economy political participation political psychology public opinion collective action It is widely believed that ethnically diverse societies exhibit slower economic growth, lower levels of public goods provision, weaker accountability, and more civil conflict (Alesina...

... networks allow ethnic parties to leverage inbuilt networks to share information and support collective action, while ethnically fragmented communities struggle to hold politicians accountable. This paper provides the first comprehensive empirical test of the assumption underlying this argument. Using seven...

... collective action; many others struggle to overcome the selection problems that dog observational research. We propose two mechanisms through which cell phones affect protests: (1) by enabling communication among would-be protesters, cell phones lower coordination costs; and (2) these technologies broadcast...