Finkelstein EA, Mansfield C, Wood D, Rowe B, Chay J, Ozdemir S. Trade-offs between civil liberties and national security: a discrete choice experiment. Contemp Econ Policy. 2017 Apr;35(2):292-311. doi: 10.1111/coep.12188


We explore differences in perception of national security policies between self-identified liberals, moderates, and conservatives from a national sample of U.S. adults. Using a discrete choice experiment, we also quantify each group's willingness to trade off select policies in exchange for reduced risk of a 9/11-style terrorist attack. Relative to other groups, liberals are more likely to view such policies as ineffective and susceptible to government abuse. They also perceive a lower threat of terrorism. All groups are willing to make trade-offs between civil liberties and risk of a terrorist attack. However, loss of civil liberties affects liberals more than conservatives.

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