Replication Data for: Early-Adulthood Economic Experiences and the Formation of Democratic Support

Do economic experiences early in life affect regime support later in life? Effects of recent economic performance on regime support are extensively studied, but lasting effects of individual-level economic experiences across the lifespan remain unexplored. We argue that in democracies and autocracies alike, economic experiences in early adulthood (i.e., age 18‒28) are wired into people’s memories and become important cues for their democratic support later in life. Having lived in a well-performing economy in a democracy increases democratic support throughout most of people’s lives, whereas having lived in a well-performing economy in an autocracy decreases democratic support throughout most of people’s lives. Using extensive survey data on support for democracy covering 97 countries from 1994 to 2015, we find support for these propositions, demonstrating that economic experiences in early adulthood, conditional on the regime in place at the time, have strong, robust, and lasting effects on democratic support.人生早期的经济经历，会对个体晚年的政权支持倾向产生影响吗？现有研究已对近期经济表现对政权支持的影响展开了广泛探讨，但针对个体整个生命周期内的经济经历所产生的长期影响，仍有待深入挖掘。我们认为，无论身处民主政体（democracy）还是威权政体（autocracy），个体在成年早期（即18至28岁）的经济经历都会镌刻于其记忆之中，并成为其晚年对民主制度支持倾向的重要判断依据。若个体在民主政体下经历了经济表现良好的时期，其一生中绝大多数时段的民主支持倾向都会得到提升；反之，若个体在威权政体下经历了经济表现良好的时期，其一生中绝大多数时段的民主支持倾向则会相应降低。本研究使用1994年至2015年间覆盖97个国家的大规模民主支持度调研数据，对上述理论命题进行了验证。结果表明，成年早期的经济经历会受当时所处政体类型的调节，对个体晚年的民主支持倾向产生显著、稳健且持久的影响。