American Economic Journal:
Applied Economics
ISSN 1945-7782 (Print) | ISSN 1945-7790 (Online)
Fighting for Tyranny: State Repression and Combat Motivation
American Economic Journal: Applied Economics
vol. 16,
no. 3, July 2024
(pp. 44–75)
Abstract
We utilize over 100 million declassified Red Army personnel records from World War II to study how state repression shapes soldiers' motivation to exert effort in fighting. Exploiting multiple complementary identification strategies, we find that soldiers from places with higher levels of prewar repression under Stalin's rule were more likely to fight until death and less likely to shirk their duties, but they also received fewer decorations for personal bravery. The coercive incentives created by repression appear to have induced obedience at the expense of initiative and increased the human costs of war.Citation
Rozenas, Arturas, Roya Talibova, and Yuri M. Zhukov. 2024. "Fighting for Tyranny: State Repression and Combat Motivation." American Economic Journal: Applied Economics, 16 (3): 44–75. DOI: 10.1257/app.20220085Additional Materials
JEL Classification
- D74 Conflict; Conflict Resolution; Alliances; Revolutions
- F51 International Conflicts; Negotiations; Sanctions
- H56 National Security and War
- J45 Public Sector Labor Markets
- N34 Economic History: Labor and Consumers, Demography, Education, Health, Welfare, Income, Wealth, Religion, and Philanthropy: Europe: 1913-
- N44 Economic History: Government, War, Law, International Relations, and Regulation: Europe: 1913-
- P26 Political Economy and Comparative Economic Systems; Property Rights
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