Secondo questo studio, pubblicato dalla Kennedy School of Government di Harvard, vi sarebbe una correlazione tra alti livelli di educazione, basse aspettative economiche e rivolte.
Scrivono i ricercatori nelle loro conclusioni:

"At the individual level, our evidence shows that individuals whose income underperforms what would have been predicted given their level of schooling are more inclined to use their human capital in political activities such as demonstrations, strikes, and occupation of buildings. We argue building on our previous research that this is consistent with the hypothesis that depressed economic prospects for human capital reduce the opportunity cost of engaging in effort- and skill-intensive political activities, namely protests.
Note in particular that this argument is different from a simple "grievance"  effect: It is not that a combination of high skill and poor rewards is dangerous simply  because people will be upset about it, but also because the opportunity cost of engaging in political protest for skilled individuals will be lower. We have also looked at country-level data, and found evidence that countries that invest a lot in human capital, but fail to see that investment matched with commensurate rises in economic opportunities or living standards, are more likely to see incumbents removed from office. That combinations seems to have been present in many of the Middle Eastern countries that have witnessed political turmoil recently, and our analysis suggests that it is pattern that is manifest in the broader cross-country experience beyond the Arab World."

The People want the Fall of the Regime – Schooling Political Protest and the Economy