Social Media and Protest Participation: Evidence from Russia

press release: In collaboration with Maria Petrova and Aleksey Makarin, Ruben Enikolopov tests empirically whether the spread of social media affects participation in political protests. Using examples of political protests in Russia in December 2011, the scholars show that an increased penetration of social media led to a higher probability of protests. Additional results suggest that social media has affected protest activity by reducing the costs of coordination, rather than by spreading information critical of the government.

About the Speaker: Ruben Enikolopov is ICREA Research Professor at Universitat Pompeu Fabra and Associate Professor of Economics at the New Economic School, Moscow.  His research interests include political economy, economics of mass media, and development economics. He has published in such journals as American Economic Review, Quarterly Journal of Economics, Review of Economic Studies, Proceedings of National Academy of Science, and American Political Science Review.