Nationalist sentiment and lottery markets: Evidence from Catalonia

ABSTRACT To what extent nationalist sentiments affect economic behavior is still an open question. In this paper a study of emerging and competing lottery markets in the same jurisdiction (Catalonia, a Spanish region) is conducted to explore the impact of such nationalistic feelings in the demand for gambling. The use of panel data allows controlling for changing economic and demographic conditions at the province level and their potential effect on the analyzed lottery markets. The results from a difference-in-difference regression analysis indicate that a statistically significant but limited impact of the introduction of the new lottery exists, suggesting that the observed shift in the existing market demand may respond, beyond mere economic determinants, to behavioral biases (e.g. identification feeling with the new lottery).