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Changing for the Better: Escaping Negative Equilibria in State-Citizen Relations

Objective

The character of state-citizen interactions shapes social stability and economic growth, making it critical to social scientists. Sometimes these interactions appear in the form of vicious cycles, in which poor state performance reinforces negative population attitudes and vice versa. Specifically, citizens who have unfavourable views of the state due to low public service quality are more likely to elect parties that limit the state’s resources, which fortifies its poor performance. We may think of this situation as a “negative equilibrium”. Yet other regions have positive equilibria, in which effective states correspond to favourable citizen attitudes. This raises a critical question: Which factors allow regions to escape negative equilibria by shifting toward more positive population attitudes and more effective state institutions?

EQUILIBRIUM makes a ground-breaking contribution to our understanding of state-citizen equilibria by investigating the potential for change at the individual and regional levels. My goal is not only to examine equilibrium robustness, but also to assess if separate equilibria exist for different population groups. The project will further provide significant methodological innovation by developing new measures for equilibrium coherence and fragmentation—which I hypothesize shape the potential for change—and introducing a first-of-its-kind sequential multicomponent design that integrates observational data, public opinion surveys, and inquiries to bureaucracies.

Empirically, the project will break new ground through the collection of data across five European countries and the United States, allowing for cross- and within-case comparison. Furthermore, I intend to pool survey experiments with natural experiments.

This project will not only markedly improve our understanding of social equilibria, but its findings will be of direct relevance to policymakers. By rigorously assessing equilibrium durability, it will reveal paths for reform.

Fields of science (EuroSciVoc)

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Keywords

Project’s keywords as indicated by the project coordinator. Not to be confused with the EuroSciVoc taxonomy (Fields of science)

Programme(s)

Multi-annual funding programmes that define the EU’s priorities for research and innovation.

Topic(s)

Calls for proposals are divided into topics. A topic defines a specific subject or area for which applicants can submit proposals. The description of a topic comprises its specific scope and the expected impact of the funded project.

Funding Scheme

Funding scheme (or “Type of Action”) inside a programme with common features. It specifies: the scope of what is funded; the reimbursement rate; specific evaluation criteria to qualify for funding; and the use of simplified forms of costs like lump sums.

HORIZON-ERC - HORIZON ERC Grants

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Call for proposal

Procedure for inviting applicants to submit project proposals, with the aim of receiving EU funding.

(opens in new window) ERC-2025-STG

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Host institution

AARHUS UNIVERSITET
Net EU contribution

Net EU financial contribution. The sum of money that the participant receives, deducted by the EU contribution to its linked third party. It considers the distribution of the EU financial contribution between direct beneficiaries of the project and other types of participants, like third-party participants.

€ 1 499 495,00
Address
NORDRE RINGGADE 1
8000 Aarhus C
Denmark

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Region
Danmark Midtjylland Østjylland
Activity type
Higher or Secondary Education Establishments
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Total cost

The total costs incurred by this organisation to participate in the project, including direct and indirect costs. This amount is a subset of the overall project budget.

€ 1 499 495,00

Beneficiaries (1)

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