National pride: war minus the shooting

This study focuses on the determinants of self-reported measures of national pride. Using pooled cross-sectional data for European countries obtained from the Eurobarometer, it is estimated that pride is not correlated with GDP per capita nor with household income levels. Using the 2000 UEFA European Championship as a natural experiment, it is estimated that individuals from both host and winning nations report, on average, higher levels of national pride in the period immediately following the event, supporting theoretical arguments of a ‘‘feel-good’’ factor associated with sports events. Accounting for performance relative to expectations produces results along the same lines.