Inflation, War Bonds, and Voter Backlash in the 1950s

Gillian Brunet; Eric Hilt; Matthew Jaremski

doi:10.1162/rest.a.1783

The Review of Economics and Statistics 2026

Inflation, War Bonds, and Voter Backlash in the 1950s

Gillian Brunet¹; Eric Hilt²; Matthew Jaremski³

¹ Department of Economics, Smith College [email protected] · ² Department of Economics, Wellesley College, and NBER [email protected] · ³ Department of Economics and Finance, Utah State University, and NBER [email protected]

open access

Abstract

We study the role of war bonds and inflation in post-WWII federal elections. After WWII, major bouts of inflation in 1946-48 and 1950-51 depressed the real returns of the bonds sold to households during the war. In a difference-in-differences framework, we find that counties with higher war bond purchases shifted their votes towards the Republican Party in postwar elections. To address the endogeneity of war bond purchases, we use an instrumental variables design, and obtain similar results. Bond ownership raised the saliency of inflation, and the severe rise in prices after the war triggered a backlash against the incumbent Democrats.

DOI: 10.1162/rest.a.1783
Pages: 1-45
Language: en
Sources: openalex crossref

Inflation, War Bonds, and Voter Backlash in the 1950s

Abstract

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