Roland Hodler
Title
Prof. Dr.
Last Name
Hodler
First name
Roland
Email
roland.hodler@unisg.ch
ORCID
Phone
+41 71 224 2578
128 results
Now showing 1 - 10 of 128
- Some of the metrics are blocked by yourconsent settings
Item type:Publication, Ethnic favoritism: An axiom of politics?(Elsevier); Scopus© Citations 124 - Some of the metrics are blocked by yourconsent settings
Item type:Publication, The political effects of X’s feed algorithm(2026-04-09); ; Ekaterina ZhuravskayaFeed algorithms are widely suspected to influence political attitudes. However, previous evidence from switching off the algorithm on Meta platforms found no political effects1. Here we present results from a 2023 field experiment on Elon Musk’s platform X shedding light on this puzzle. We assigned active US-based users randomly to either an algorithmic or a chronological feed for 7 weeks, measuring political attitudes and online behaviour. Switching from a chronological to an algorithmic feed increased engagement and shifted political opinion towards more conservative positions, particularly regarding policy priorities, perceptions of criminal investigations into Donald Trump and views on the war in Ukraine. In contrast, switching from the algorithmic to the chronological feed had no comparable effects. Neither switching the algorithm on nor switching it off significantly affected affective polarization or self-reported partisanship. To investigate the mechanism, we analysed users’ feed content and behaviour. We found that the algorithm promotes conservative content and demotes posts by traditional media. Exposure to algorithmic content leads users to follow conservative political activist accounts, which they continue to follow even after switching off the algorithm, helping explain the asymmetry in effects. These results suggest that initial exposure to X’s algorithm has persistent effects on users’ current political attitudes and account-following behaviour, even in the absence of a detectable effect on partisanship.Type:journal articleJournal:NatureVolume:652Issue:8109Scopus© Citations 7 - Some of the metrics are blocked by yourconsent settings
Item type:Publication, Economics of Education ReviewThis study examines the impact of ethnic clustering during compulsory schooling on the career paths of ethnic minority students. We observe whether students upon completing compulsory school join an academic track, a vocational education, a transition year or no further education. We show that the effect of foreign language peers depends on whether or not they speak the same foreign language as the observed student. A higher overall share of foreign language peers in a cohort increases the probability of these students entering vocational education at the expense of academic education. It also leads to lower projected earnings. Peers speaking the same foreign language as the student observed also increase the student's chances of joining vocational education, but at the expense of a transition year. Looking at mechanisms, we provide evidence that foreign language peers affect language acquisition negatively, but can provide positive network effects.Type:journal articleJournal:Economics of Education ReviewVolume:106Scopus© Citations 1 - Some of the metrics are blocked by yourconsent settings
Item type:Publication, Ethnic clustering in schools and early career outcomes(2025); ; ; This study examines the impact of ethnic clustering during compulsory schooling on the career paths of ethnic minority students. We observe whether students upon completing compulsory school join an academic track, a vocational education, a transition year or no further education. We show that the effect of foreign language peers depends on whether or not they speak the same foreign language as the observed student. A higher overall share of foreign language peers in a cohort increases the probability of these students entering vocational education at the expense of academic education. It also leads to lower projected earnings. Peers speaking the same foreign language as the student observed also increase the student’s chances of joining vocational education, but at the expense of a transition year. Looking at mechanisms, we provide evidence that foreign language peers affect language acquisition negatively, but can provide positive network effects.Type:journal articleJournal:Economics of Education ReviewVolume:106 - Some of the metrics are blocked by yourconsent settings
Item type:Publication, Key players in economic developmentThis paper analyzes the role of networks in the spatial diffusion of local economic shocks in Africa. We show that geographic connectivity, along with road and ethnic connectivity, are important for diffusing economic spillovers over longer distances. We then determine the key players, that is, which districts are key in propagating local economic shocks across Africa. Using these results, we conduct counterfactual policy exercises to evaluate the potential gains from policies that increase economic activity in specific districts or improve road connectivity between districts.Type:journal articleJournal:Journal of Economic Behavior & OrganizationVolume:223Scopus© Citations 2 - Some of the metrics are blocked by yourconsent settings
Item type:Publication, Partisan Effects of Information Campaigns in Competitive Authoritarian Elections: Evidence from BangladeshTo study the effects of non-partisan information and get-out-the-vote campaigns on the partisan composition of the voting population in competitive authoritarian elections, we conducted a large-scale field experiment prior to the 2018 Bangladeshi general election. Our two treatments highlight that high turnout increases the winning party’s legitimacy and that election outcomes matter for policy outcomes. Both treatments increase turnout (measured by ink marks) in government strongholds, but decrease turnout in opposition strongholds. We explain the withdrawal of treated opposition supporters and conclude that non-partisan information and get-out-the-vote campaigns can further tilt the uneven playing field in competitive authoritarian elections.Type:journal articleJournal:The Economic JournalVolume:134Issue:660Scopus© Citations 1 - Some of the metrics are blocked by yourconsent settings
Item type:Publication, Religion and terrorism: Evidence from Ramadan fastingDo intense religious experiences increase or decrease terrorism? We argue that fasting during the month of Ramadan offers an ideal setting for studying this question empirically. Reasons are twofold: first, daily fasting from dawn to sunset during Ramadan is considered mandatory for most Muslims. Second, the Islamic Hijri calendar is not synchronized with the solar cycle. Therefore, the daily fasting duration during Ramadan is exogenous once we control for latitude and the seasonality of Ramadan, which we can do by using district and country-year fixed effects. Focusing on predominantly Muslim countries, we document three main findings: first, longer and more intense Ramadan fasting has a robust negative effect on the likelihood of local terrorist events and terror deaths over the next year. Second, this negative effect is particularly pronounced for operationally more difficult attack types, which are more dependent on public support for terrorism. Third, using survey data, we show that longer and more intense Ramadan fasting lowers the share of respondents who consider religiously motivated violence to be justified. These findings imply that intense religious experiences may not be a breeding ground for terrorism. Quite the opposite, they can decrease public support for terrorism and, consequently, terrorist attacks.Type:journal articleJournal:Journal of Peace ResearchVolume:61Issue:3Scopus© Citations 2 - Some of the metrics are blocked by yourconsent settings
Item type:Publication, Is favoritism a threat to Chinese aid effectiveness? A subnational analysis of Chinese development projects(Elsevier Science, 2021-03); - Some of the metrics are blocked by yourconsent settings
Item type:Publication, Ethnic geography: Measurement and evidenceType:journal articleJournal:Journal of Public EconomicsVolume:200Issue:104446 - Some of the metrics are blocked by yourconsent settings
Item type:Publication, Expropriations, Property Confiscations and New Offshore Entities: Evidence from the Panama PapersType:journal articleJournal:Journal of Economic Behavior and OrganizationVolume:171Scopus© Citations 5