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Economic Freedom and Antisemitism

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Abstract
We examine how variation in antisemitism across countries can be explained by economic freedom. We propose two mechanisms. First, the more economic freedom, the greater the scope of market activities. If people perceive the consequences of the market economy as detrimental, they will be more hostile towards those seen as mainly responsible. If Jews are seen as such, this implies that a greater reliance on markets increases antisemitism. Second, a key type of institution undergirding the market is an effective and fair legal system, or the rule of law. The stronger the rule of law, the smaller the risk for exploitative behaviour, and the less hostile people will be towards groups seen as exploiters. If Jews are seen as such, more economic freedom reduces antisemitism. We use the ADL Global 100 survey of antisemitic attitudes and relate them, for up to 106 countries, to the Economic Freedom of the World index and its five areas. Our empirical findings confirm the two predictions: The more economic openness, the more antisemitism; and the stronger the rule of law, the less antisemitism. These findings indicate a complex relationship between markets and attitudes towards Jews.

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  • Berggren, Niclas & Nilsson, Therese, 2020. "Economic Freedom and Antisemitism," Working Paper Series 1357, Research Institute of Industrial Economics.
    • Handle: RePEc:hhs:iuiwop:1357
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    Cited by:

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    2. Max, Raphael & Uhl, Matthias, 2021. "The downside of moralizing financial markets: Anti-Semitic stereotypes in German MTurkers," Journal of Behavioral and Experimental Finance, Elsevier, vol. 31(C).
    3. Berggren, Niclas & Bjørnskov, Christian, 2024. "Economic freedom and academic freedom across nations," Journal of Institutional Economics, Cambridge University Press, vol. 20, pages 1-1, January.
    4. Cai, Meina & Caskey, Gregory W. & Cowen, Nick & Murtazashvili, Ilia & Murtazashvili, Jennifer Brick & Salahodjaev, Raufhon, 2022. "Individualism, economic freedom, and charitable giving," Journal of Economic Behavior & Organization, Elsevier, vol. 200(C), pages 868-884.
    5. Berggren, Niclas & Ljunge, Martin & Nilsson, Therese, 2022. "Immigrants’ Tolerance and Integration into Society," Working Paper Series 1447, Research Institute of Industrial Economics.
    6. Schilpzand, Annemiek & de Jong, Eelke, 2023. "Do market societies undermine civic morality? An empirical investigation into market societies and civic morality across the globe," Journal of Economic Behavior & Organization, Elsevier, vol. 208(C), pages 39-60.

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    More about this item

    Keywords

    Markets; Economic freedom; Tolerance; Globalization; Jews; Antisemitism; Racism; Persecution;
    All these keywords.

    JEL classification:

    • D02 - Microeconomics - - General - - - Institutions: Design, Formation, Operations, and Impact
    • D63 - Microeconomics - - Welfare Economics - - - Equity, Justice, Inequality, and Other Normative Criteria and Measurement
    • F10 - International Economics - - Trade - - - General
    • F20 - International Economics - - International Factor Movements and International Business - - - General
    • F30 - International Economics - - International Finance - - - General
    • J15 - Labor and Demographic Economics - - Demographic Economics - - - Economics of Minorities, Races, Indigenous Peoples, and Immigrants; Non-labor Discrimination
    • K40 - Law and Economics - - Legal Procedure, the Legal System, and Illegal Behavior - - - General
    • P14 - Political Economy and Comparative Economic Systems - - Capitalist Economies - - - Property Rights
    • Z12 - Other Special Topics - - Cultural Economics - - - Religion

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