{"id":178,"date":"2026-05-04T10:24:04","date_gmt":"2026-05-04T14:24:04","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/people.bsu.edu\/econbriefs\/?p=178"},"modified":"2026-05-04T10:24:04","modified_gmt":"2026-05-04T14:24:04","slug":"the-economics-of-protests-and-bank-runs-by-dr-cecil-bohanon-and-dr-john-horowitz","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/people.bsu.edu\/econbriefs\/2026\/05\/04\/the-economics-of-protests-and-bank-runs-by-dr-cecil-bohanon-and-dr-john-horowitz\/","title":{"rendered":"The Economics of Protests and Bank Runs\u2013 by Dr. Cecil Bohanon and Dr. John Horowitz"},"content":{"rendered":"

Recent\u00a0<\/span>Federal immigration raids have\u00a0ignited\u00a0immigration protests across the United States<\/span><\/a>.\u00a0But\u00a0beneath the headlines lies a deeper question: What\u00a0are\u00a0the economics of protests?\u00a0<\/span>Bank runs and immigration protests share a common logic<\/span><\/a>.\u00a0In bank runs, people rush to withdraw their deposits when they see others in line to withdraw theirs.\u00a0A run on a bank can cause the bank to fail, even if it is solvent.\u00a0Likewise, when people witness\u00a0their neighbors participating in protests,\u00a0they are more likely to participate in protests themselves.\u00a0When enough people fear that their community is under threat, they mobilize, which can trigger the very crackdown they fear. In both cases,\u00a0the fear becomes self-fulfilling, and\u00a0perception becomes reality.<\/span>\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

Both bank runs and protests\u00a0are examples of\u00a0collective actions\u00a0that occur under conditions of\u00a0uncertainty.\u00a0Individuals\u00a0must make decisions\u00a0based on\u00a0incomplete information and on how\u00a0they think\u00a0others will act.\u00a0Early movers, whether they are the first few people to withdraw funds or the first few to protest, can tip the balance, creating a\u00a0feedback loop that can escalate\u00a0quickly.\u00a0<\/span>\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

Contagion\u00a0is another shared trait. A bank run at one bank can spread to other banks, even if they are financially sound.\u00a0Even though your bank may not currently\u00a0be experiencing a bank run, you may fear that it could, and rush to withdraw your money while you still\u00a0can.\u00a0Similarly, a protest in one city can spark demonstrations in\u00a0other parts of the country, especially when\u00a0media coverage\u00a0or government responses amplify\u00a0the\u00a0message. What begins as a\u00a0local\u00a0event can quickly\u00a0spread through\u00a0the whole system, whether financial or political.\u00a0<\/span>\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

The consequences are also systemic.\u00a0A bank run can destabilize the financial system.\u00a0Mass protests, especially when met with repression, can destabilize political systems,\u00a0polarize societies,\u00a0and challenge the legitimacy of institutions.\u00a0Of course, there are differences. Bank runs are typically\u00a0instances where\u00a0individuals act\u00a0to protect their\u00a0own\u00a0assets. Protests are\u00a0collective efforts where\u00a0groups of people cooperate to\u00a0demand change.\u00a0Although the actors, goals, and mechanisms differ,\u00a0both reflect a breakdown in trust, whether in financial institutions or government.\u00a0Just as the financial system must build trust to prevent financial panic, governments must foster social trust and legitimacy to prevent unrest, whether it takes the form of immigration protests or\u00a0the\u00a0US Capitol\u00a0attack. Both systems\u00a0rely on faith, hope, and trust, and when these\u00a0erode, the consequences can be swift, sweeping, and deeply destabilizing.\u00a0<\/span>\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Recent\u00a0Federal immigration raids have\u00a0ignited\u00a0immigration protests across the United States.\u00a0But\u00a0beneath the headlines lies a deeper question: What\u00a0are\u00a0the economics of protests?\u00a0Bank runs and immigration protests share a common logic.\u00a0In bank runs, people rush to withdraw their deposits when they see others in line to withdraw theirs.\u00a0A run on a bank can cause the bank to fail, even […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":112,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[795,1],"tags":[1623,1622,1625,1627,1629,1630,1628,1624,1626,1230],"class_list":["post-178","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-immigration","category-uncategorized","tag-bank-runs","tag-collective-action","tag-contagion","tag-financial-stability","tag-information-cascades","tag-institutional-trust","tag-political-unrest","tag-protests","tag-social-trust","tag-uncertainty"],"yoast_head":"\nThe Economics of Protests and Bank Runs\u2013 by Dr. Cecil Bohanon and Dr. John Horowitz - Econ Briefs<\/title>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/people.bsu.edu\/econbriefs\/2026\/05\/04\/the-economics-of-protests-and-bank-runs-by-dr-cecil-bohanon-and-dr-john-horowitz\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"The Economics of Protests and Bank Runs\u2013 by Dr. Cecil Bohanon and Dr. John Horowitz - Econ Briefs\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:description\" content=\"Recent\u00a0Federal immigration raids have\u00a0ignited\u00a0immigration protests across the United States.\u00a0But\u00a0beneath the headlines lies a deeper question: What\u00a0are\u00a0the economics of protests?\u00a0Bank runs and immigration protests share a common logic.\u00a0In bank runs, people rush to withdraw their deposits when they see others in line to withdraw theirs.\u00a0A run on a bank can cause the bank to fail, even […]\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:url\" content=\"https:\/\/people.bsu.edu\/econbriefs\/2026\/05\/04\/the-economics-of-protests-and-bank-runs-by-dr-cecil-bohanon-and-dr-john-horowitz\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:site_name\" content=\"Econ Briefs\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:published_time\" content=\"2026-05-04T14:24:04+00:00\" \/>\n<meta name=\"author\" content=\"christianhartselle\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:card\" content=\"summary_large_image\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:label1\" content=\"Written by\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data1\" content=\"christianhartselle\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:label2\" content=\"Est. reading time\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data2\" content=\"2 minutes\" \/>\n<script type=\"application\/ld+json\" class=\"yoast-schema-graph\">{\"@context\":\"https:\\\/\\\/schema.org\",\"@graph\":[{\"@type\":\"Article\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/people.bsu.edu\\\/econbriefs\\\/2026\\\/05\\\/04\\\/the-economics-of-protests-and-bank-runs-by-dr-cecil-bohanon-and-dr-john-horowitz\\\/#article\",\"isPartOf\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/people.bsu.edu\\\/econbriefs\\\/2026\\\/05\\\/04\\\/the-economics-of-protests-and-bank-runs-by-dr-cecil-bohanon-and-dr-john-horowitz\\\/\"},\"author\":{\"name\":\"christianhartselle\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/people.bsu.edu\\\/econbriefs\\\/#\\\/schema\\\/person\\\/53f4e0b981fd42f34cbb306b9ad62622\"},\"headline\":\"The Economics of Protests and Bank Runs\u2013 by Dr. Cecil Bohanon and Dr. John Horowitz\",\"datePublished\":\"2026-05-04T14:24:04+00:00\",\"mainEntityOfPage\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/people.bsu.edu\\\/econbriefs\\\/2026\\\/05\\\/04\\\/the-economics-of-protests-and-bank-runs-by-dr-cecil-bohanon-and-dr-john-horowitz\\\/\"},\"wordCount\":424,\"commentCount\":0,\"keywords\":[\"bank runs\",\"collective action\",\"contagion\",\"financial stability\",\"information cascades\",\"institutional trust\",\"political unrest\",\"protests\",\"social trust\",\"uncertainty\"],\"articleSection\":[\"Immigration\"],\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"potentialAction\":[{\"@type\":\"CommentAction\",\"name\":\"Comment\",\"target\":[\"https:\\\/\\\/people.bsu.edu\\\/econbriefs\\\/2026\\\/05\\\/04\\\/the-economics-of-protests-and-bank-runs-by-dr-cecil-bohanon-and-dr-john-horowitz\\\/#respond\"]}]},{\"@type\":\"WebPage\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/people.bsu.edu\\\/econbriefs\\\/2026\\\/05\\\/04\\\/the-economics-of-protests-and-bank-runs-by-dr-cecil-bohanon-and-dr-john-horowitz\\\/\",\"url\":\"https:\\\/\\\/people.bsu.edu\\\/econbriefs\\\/2026\\\/05\\\/04\\\/the-economics-of-protests-and-bank-runs-by-dr-cecil-bohanon-and-dr-john-horowitz\\\/\",\"name\":\"The Economics of Protests and Bank Runs\u2013 by Dr. Cecil Bohanon and Dr. John Horowitz - Econ Briefs\",\"isPartOf\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/people.bsu.edu\\\/econbriefs\\\/#website\"},\"datePublished\":\"2026-05-04T14:24:04+00:00\",\"author\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/people.bsu.edu\\\/econbriefs\\\/#\\\/schema\\\/person\\\/53f4e0b981fd42f34cbb306b9ad62622\"},\"breadcrumb\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/people.bsu.edu\\\/econbriefs\\\/2026\\\/05\\\/04\\\/the-economics-of-protests-and-bank-runs-by-dr-cecil-bohanon-and-dr-john-horowitz\\\/#breadcrumb\"},\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"potentialAction\":[{\"@type\":\"ReadAction\",\"target\":[\"https:\\\/\\\/people.bsu.edu\\\/econbriefs\\\/2026\\\/05\\\/04\\\/the-economics-of-protests-and-bank-runs-by-dr-cecil-bohanon-and-dr-john-horowitz\\\/\"]}]},{\"@type\":\"BreadcrumbList\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/people.bsu.edu\\\/econbriefs\\\/2026\\\/05\\\/04\\\/the-economics-of-protests-and-bank-runs-by-dr-cecil-bohanon-and-dr-john-horowitz\\\/#breadcrumb\",\"itemListElement\":[{\"@type\":\"ListItem\",\"position\":1,\"name\":\"Home\",\"item\":\"https:\\\/\\\/people.bsu.edu\\\/econbriefs\\\/\"},{\"@type\":\"ListItem\",\"position\":2,\"name\":\"The Economics of Protests and Bank Runs\u2013 by Dr. Cecil Bohanon and Dr. John Horowitz\"}]},{\"@type\":\"WebSite\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/people.bsu.edu\\\/econbriefs\\\/#website\",\"url\":\"https:\\\/\\\/people.bsu.edu\\\/econbriefs\\\/\",\"name\":\"Econ Briefs\",\"description\":\"\",\"potentialAction\":[{\"@type\":\"SearchAction\",\"target\":{\"@type\":\"EntryPoint\",\"urlTemplate\":\"https:\\\/\\\/people.bsu.edu\\\/econbriefs\\\/?s={search_term_string}\"},\"query-input\":{\"@type\":\"PropertyValueSpecification\",\"valueRequired\":true,\"valueName\":\"search_term_string\"}}],\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\"},{\"@type\":\"Person\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/people.bsu.edu\\\/econbriefs\\\/#\\\/schema\\\/person\\\/53f4e0b981fd42f34cbb306b9ad62622\",\"name\":\"christianhartselle\",\"image\":{\"@type\":\"ImageObject\",\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/secure.gravatar.com\\\/avatar\\\/99dffdd2c9bd490eefa22ed0b6d8d8a277b0368e88948df516427d91d6bf8ea5?s=96&d=mm&r=g\",\"url\":\"https:\\\/\\\/secure.gravatar.com\\\/avatar\\\/99dffdd2c9bd490eefa22ed0b6d8d8a277b0368e88948df516427d91d6bf8ea5?s=96&d=mm&r=g\",\"contentUrl\":\"https:\\\/\\\/secure.gravatar.com\\\/avatar\\\/99dffdd2c9bd490eefa22ed0b6d8d8a277b0368e88948df516427d91d6bf8ea5?s=96&d=mm&r=g\",\"caption\":\"christianhartselle\"},\"url\":\"https:\\\/\\\/people.bsu.edu\\\/econbriefs\\\/author\\\/christianhartselle\\\/\"}]}<\/script>\n<!-- \/ Yoast SEO plugin. -->","yoast_head_json":{"title":"The Economics of Protests and Bank Runs\u2013 by Dr. Cecil Bohanon and Dr. John Horowitz - Econ Briefs","robots":{"index":"index","follow":"follow","max-snippet":"max-snippet:-1","max-image-preview":"max-image-preview:large","max-video-preview":"max-video-preview:-1"},"canonical":"https:\/\/people.bsu.edu\/econbriefs\/2026\/05\/04\/the-economics-of-protests-and-bank-runs-by-dr-cecil-bohanon-and-dr-john-horowitz\/","og_locale":"en_US","og_type":"article","og_title":"The Economics of Protests and Bank Runs\u2013 by Dr. Cecil Bohanon and Dr. John Horowitz - Econ Briefs","og_description":"Recent\u00a0Federal immigration raids have\u00a0ignited\u00a0immigration protests across the United States.\u00a0But\u00a0beneath the headlines lies a deeper question: What\u00a0are\u00a0the economics of protests?\u00a0Bank runs and immigration protests share a common logic.\u00a0In bank runs, people rush to withdraw their deposits when they see others in line to withdraw theirs.\u00a0A run on a bank can cause the bank to fail, even […]","og_url":"https:\/\/people.bsu.edu\/econbriefs\/2026\/05\/04\/the-economics-of-protests-and-bank-runs-by-dr-cecil-bohanon-and-dr-john-horowitz\/","og_site_name":"Econ Briefs","article_published_time":"2026-05-04T14:24:04+00:00","author":"christianhartselle","twitter_card":"summary_large_image","twitter_misc":{"Written by":"christianhartselle","Est. reading time":"2 minutes"},"schema":{"@context":"https:\/\/schema.org","@graph":[{"@type":"Article","@id":"https:\/\/people.bsu.edu\/econbriefs\/2026\/05\/04\/the-economics-of-protests-and-bank-runs-by-dr-cecil-bohanon-and-dr-john-horowitz\/#article","isPartOf":{"@id":"https:\/\/people.bsu.edu\/econbriefs\/2026\/05\/04\/the-economics-of-protests-and-bank-runs-by-dr-cecil-bohanon-and-dr-john-horowitz\/"},"author":{"name":"christianhartselle","@id":"https:\/\/people.bsu.edu\/econbriefs\/#\/schema\/person\/53f4e0b981fd42f34cbb306b9ad62622"},"headline":"The Economics of Protests and Bank Runs\u2013 by Dr. Cecil Bohanon and Dr. John Horowitz","datePublished":"2026-05-04T14:24:04+00:00","mainEntityOfPage":{"@id":"https:\/\/people.bsu.edu\/econbriefs\/2026\/05\/04\/the-economics-of-protests-and-bank-runs-by-dr-cecil-bohanon-and-dr-john-horowitz\/"},"wordCount":424,"commentCount":0,"keywords":["bank runs","collective action","contagion","financial stability","information cascades","institutional trust","political unrest","protests","social trust","uncertainty"],"articleSection":["Immigration"],"inLanguage":"en-US","potentialAction":[{"@type":"CommentAction","name":"Comment","target":["https:\/\/people.bsu.edu\/econbriefs\/2026\/05\/04\/the-economics-of-protests-and-bank-runs-by-dr-cecil-bohanon-and-dr-john-horowitz\/#respond"]}]},{"@type":"WebPage","@id":"https:\/\/people.bsu.edu\/econbriefs\/2026\/05\/04\/the-economics-of-protests-and-bank-runs-by-dr-cecil-bohanon-and-dr-john-horowitz\/","url":"https:\/\/people.bsu.edu\/econbriefs\/2026\/05\/04\/the-economics-of-protests-and-bank-runs-by-dr-cecil-bohanon-and-dr-john-horowitz\/","name":"The Economics of Protests and Bank Runs\u2013 by Dr. Cecil Bohanon and Dr. John Horowitz - Econ Briefs","isPartOf":{"@id":"https:\/\/people.bsu.edu\/econbriefs\/#website"},"datePublished":"2026-05-04T14:24:04+00:00","author":{"@id":"https:\/\/people.bsu.edu\/econbriefs\/#\/schema\/person\/53f4e0b981fd42f34cbb306b9ad62622"},"breadcrumb":{"@id":"https:\/\/people.bsu.edu\/econbriefs\/2026\/05\/04\/the-economics-of-protests-and-bank-runs-by-dr-cecil-bohanon-and-dr-john-horowitz\/#breadcrumb"},"inLanguage":"en-US","potentialAction":[{"@type":"ReadAction","target":["https:\/\/people.bsu.edu\/econbriefs\/2026\/05\/04\/the-economics-of-protests-and-bank-runs-by-dr-cecil-bohanon-and-dr-john-horowitz\/"]}]},{"@type":"BreadcrumbList","@id":"https:\/\/people.bsu.edu\/econbriefs\/2026\/05\/04\/the-economics-of-protests-and-bank-runs-by-dr-cecil-bohanon-and-dr-john-horowitz\/#breadcrumb","itemListElement":[{"@type":"ListItem","position":1,"name":"Home","item":"https:\/\/people.bsu.edu\/econbriefs\/"},{"@type":"ListItem","position":2,"name":"The Economics of Protests and Bank Runs\u2013 by Dr. Cecil Bohanon and Dr. John Horowitz"}]},{"@type":"WebSite","@id":"https:\/\/people.bsu.edu\/econbriefs\/#website","url":"https:\/\/people.bsu.edu\/econbriefs\/","name":"Econ Briefs","description":"","potentialAction":[{"@type":"SearchAction","target":{"@type":"EntryPoint","urlTemplate":"https:\/\/people.bsu.edu\/econbriefs\/?s={search_term_string}"},"query-input":{"@type":"PropertyValueSpecification","valueRequired":true,"valueName":"search_term_string"}}],"inLanguage":"en-US"},{"@type":"Person","@id":"https:\/\/people.bsu.edu\/econbriefs\/#\/schema\/person\/53f4e0b981fd42f34cbb306b9ad62622","name":"christianhartselle","image":{"@type":"ImageObject","inLanguage":"en-US","@id":"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/99dffdd2c9bd490eefa22ed0b6d8d8a277b0368e88948df516427d91d6bf8ea5?s=96&d=mm&r=g","url":"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/99dffdd2c9bd490eefa22ed0b6d8d8a277b0368e88948df516427d91d6bf8ea5?s=96&d=mm&r=g","contentUrl":"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/99dffdd2c9bd490eefa22ed0b6d8d8a277b0368e88948df516427d91d6bf8ea5?s=96&d=mm&r=g","caption":"christianhartselle"},"url":"https:\/\/people.bsu.edu\/econbriefs\/author\/christianhartselle\/"}]}},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/people.bsu.edu\/econbriefs\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/178","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/people.bsu.edu\/econbriefs\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/people.bsu.edu\/econbriefs\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/people.bsu.edu\/econbriefs\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/112"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/people.bsu.edu\/econbriefs\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=178"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/people.bsu.edu\/econbriefs\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/178\/revisions"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/people.bsu.edu\/econbriefs\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=178"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/people.bsu.edu\/econbriefs\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=178"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/people.bsu.edu\/econbriefs\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=178"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}