Citizens’ attitude towards subnational borders: evidence from the merger of French regions
利用2016年法国大区合并作为自然实验，采用双重差分法研究其对居民主观幸福感的影响，发现被合并地区的生活满意度反而上升，经济改善（如失业率更快下降）超过了文化依恋的损失。
Abstract Using the 2016 merger of French regions as a natural experiment, this paper adopts a difference-in-differences identification strategy to recover its causal impact on individual subjective well-being. No depressing effect is found in the short term; life satisfaction has even increased in regions that were absorbed from both economic and political viewpoints. The empirical evidence at stake suggests that local economic performance has enhanced in these regions, which includes a faster decline of the unemployment rate. In the context of a unitary state, economic gains have therefore outweighed cultural attachment to administrative regions.