This study asks whether people living under authoritarianism form stable, constrained preferences across multiple policy domains and whether autocratic incentives to suppress preference formation prevent such stability. Using three surveys—two longitudinal—conducted in China, the authors examine intertemporal stability in a range of policy and value areas and report that many preferences show substantial stability over month-long and year-long intervals. The paper preserves caveats about measurement and context and offers recommendations for measuring preference configuration in authoritarian settings.
Key methods: longitudinal surveys; preference stability measures; China evidence
Data and methods
The analysis draws on three surveys in China, two of which follow the same respondents over time. The abstract identifies the measured domains—political institutions, economic policy, nationalistic policy, traditional social values, and ethnic policy—and compares stability over month- and year-long intervals. The authors also examine individual correlates of stability such as political knowledge and education.
Main findings
Across the surveyed domains, preferences exhibit relatively high intertemporal stability over both month-long and year-long periods. The authors report that these stability patterns are comparable to those observed in competitive electoral democracies, and that respondents with higher political knowledge and higher education levels show more stable preferences. The abstract frames these results as suggesting that stable, constrained preferences can form even when autocratic incentives might discourage them.
- Preferences assessed: political institutions, economic policies, nationalistic policies, traditional social values, ethnic policies.
- Stability is observed over both short (months) and longer (year) intervals and is associated with higher political knowledge and education.
