Aktiehandel har många belackare, inte minst på politikens vänstersida. Den anses spekulativ och präglad av girighet. En ny studie, ”Valuing Peace: The Effect of Financial Market Exposure on Votes and Political Attitudes”, visar dock att sådan handel kan bidra till mer fredliga preferenser:

Can participation in financial markets lead individuals to reevaluate the costs of conflict, change their political attitudes, and even their votes? Prior to the 2015 Israeli elections, we randomly assigned Palestinian and Israeli financial assets to likely voters and incentivized them to actively trade for up to 7 weeks. No political messages or nonfinancial information were included. The treatment systematically shifted vote choices toward parties more supportive of the peace process. This effect is not due to a direct material incentive to vote a particular way. Rather, the treatment reduces opposition to concessions for peace and changes awareness of the broader economic risks of conflict.

Kanske inte ett exakt stöd för Montesquieus doux commerce-tes, att handel har en civiliserande effekt på människor, men definitivt ett resultat i samma anda. Marknader kan ibland stimulera goda attityder och beteenden!

Se även det tidigare inlägget ”Har handel och kapitalmarknader gett långsiktig tillväxt?”.