Open AccessWhat drives consumer activism during trade disputes? Experimental evidence from Canada
Author(s) -
Xiaojun Li,
Adam Liu
Publication year - 2020
Publication title -
international journal
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 0.198
H-Index - 21
eISSN - 2052-465X
pISSN - 0020-7020
DOI - 10.1177/0020702020968942
Subject(s) - protectionism , populism , punitive damages , microfoundations , context (archaeology) , economics , political economy , government (linguistics) , elite , political science , peer pressure , international trade , law , politics , macroeconomics , paleontology , linguistics , philosophy , biology
What drives consumer activism during trade disputes? We investigate this important and timely question using a survey experiment in the context of the recent Canada-US trade dispute. We find that Canadians are more likely to express willingness to take punitive actions in the form of boycotting during a trade conflict when they learn that Americans are taking such actions (retaliation), when many fellow citizens are taking such actions (peer pressure), and when they are rallied by their government (elite cue). Among the three conditions, peer pressure has the largest effect. These findings contribute to our understanding of the microfoundations of consumer activism during international trade disputes. They also have important policy implications in a world where both protectionism and populism are rising.