Online Versus Offline: Which Networks Spur Protests?
CESifo, Munich, 2022
CESifo Working Paper No. 9969
![](https://cesifo.org/DocImg/cesifo1_wp9969.jpg?c=1689237161)
Does social media or offline social cohesion overcome collective action problems more effectively when both types of networks are prevalent? We investigate non-violent protests against a place-based economic reform in Austria—a country where one in two citizens uses Facebook but also one in two citizens is a member of a local club or civic organization. Our results show that protests spread more in places with strong offline networks as measured by real-life networks like village, folklore, or dialect clubs. We do not find that social media penetration intensifies local protests, a finding corroborated by microdata.
Public Finance
Public Choice