TY  - RPRT
        AU  - Bartos, Vojtech
AU  - Bauer, Michal
AU  - Cahlíková, Jana
AU  - Chytilová, Julie
        TI  - COVID-19 Crisis Fuels Hostility against Foreigners
        PY  - 2020/May/
        PB  - Institute of Labor Economics (IZA)
        CY  - Bonn
        T2  - IZA Discussion Paper
        IS  - 13250
        UR  - https://www.iza.org/publications/dp13250
        AB  - 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 the Covid-19 crisis magnifies hostility against foreigners. This behavioral response is similar across various demographic sub-groups. 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.
        KW  - pandemic
KW  - hostility
KW  - discrimination
KW  - inter-group conflict
KW  - scapegoating
KW  - COVID-19
KW  - experiment
        ER  -