Affirmative Actions, Economic Insecurity, and Ethnic Conflicts: Evidence from South Africa Post-Apartheid

This paper investigates whether and how affirmative action policies lead to backlash from the incumbent group. We exploit the unique historical context provided by the legacy of apartheid in democratic South Africa. Passing affirmative action legislation, intended to improve the conditions of the black community, increases support for far-right parties in national elections among low-educated white voters, who were most affected by the resulting labor market competition. This effect is larger in areas closer to the former homelands of the black community, where the threat of labor market competition was higher. We complement these findings using several survey datasets and find that this effect is associated with increased self-perceived economic insecurity. Our results indicate that, to design effective affirmative action policies, these should be accompanied by measures aimed at addressing the economic concerns of incumbent members.