Testosterone and Repression in Non‐Democracies: Evidence from a Sample of Russian Governors
研究通过测量俄罗斯州长的面部宽高比（睾酮暴露的代理指标），发现睾酮驱动的攻击行为与区域压制水平正相关，且这种关系在年轻和任期短的州长中更显著，为行为经济学融入政治经济学提供了新证据。
Summary The paper examines the role of testosterone‐driven aggressive behavior in the politics of non‐democratic regimes and, in particular, its influence on the extent of repressiveness of these regimes. To measure testosterone exposure, we apply the facial width‐to‐height metric (fWHR) – a standard proxy widely used in the psychological literature – and look at a sample of Russian regional governors. We find a positive relationship between the fWHR of the governor and the level of repression in his region. Testosterone‐related behavior is, however, more widespread among younger governors and among governors with shorter tenure in office. Thus, the paper contributes to the recent trend of integrating insights of behavioral economics in political economics research.