10.7910/DVN/V7RQQ4 Reinsberg, Bernhard Bernhard Reinsberg https://orcid.org/0000-0001-7382-413X Abouharb, Mohammed Mohammed Abouharb https://orcid.org/0000-0003-4181-7060 University College London Harvard Dataverse 2026 Social Sciences International Monetary Fund policy reform blame-shifting survey experiment World Values Surveys Reinsberg, Bernhard Bernhard Reinsberg University of Glasgow 2026-03-30 2026-03-31 10.1080/17487870.2026.2654637 8492 554 7694 37008290 text/x-stata-syntax text/plain text/x-stata-syntax text/tab-separated-values 1.0 Creative Commons CC0 1.0 Universal Public Domain Dedication. We investigate the political fallout from economic reform programs and whether incumbent governments can soften the impact using social protection or scapegoating strategies. We test our arguments through a survey experiment in Pakistan and an analysis of World Values Surveys. The Pakistani experiment confirms that emphasizing the negative consequences of reform lowers incumbent support, while attempts to mitigate this backlash are ineffective. The cross-country data show that populations enduring harsher reform programs report lower satisfaction with national leaders. These findings inform economic voting theories in developing countries and policies regarding political backlash from IMF-backed adjustments. The survey data are available here: https://doi.org/10.7910/DVN/YAM0WX