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Between-Group Contests over Group-Specific Public Goods with Within-Group Fragmentation

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  • Dasgupta, Indraneel

    (Indian Statistical Institute)

  • Neogi, Ranajoy Guha

    (Indian Statistical Institute)

Abstract

We model a contest between two groups of equal population size over the division of a group-specific public good. Each group is fragmented into sub-groups. Each sub-group allocates effort between production and contestation. There is perfect coordination within sub-groups, but sub-groups cannot coordinate with one another. All sub-groups choose effort allocations simultaneously. We find that aggregate rent-seeking rises, social welfare falls, and both communities are worse off when the dominant sub-groups within both communities increase their population shares relative to the respective average sub-group population. Any unilateral increase in fragmentation within a group reduces conflict and makes its opponent better off. The fragmenting community itself may however be better off as well, even though its share of the public good falls. Thus, a reduced share of public good provisioning cannot be used to infer a negative welfare implication for the losing community.

Suggested Citation

  • Dasgupta, Indraneel & Neogi, Ranajoy Guha, 2017. "Between-Group Contests over Group-Specific Public Goods with Within-Group Fragmentation," IZA Discussion Papers 10881, Institute of Labor Economics (IZA).
    • Handle: RePEc:iza:izadps:dp10881
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    Cited by:

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    4. Bakshi, Dripto & Dasgupta, Indraneel, 2021. "Internal versus External Rent-Seeking with In-Group Inequality and Public Good Provision," IZA Discussion Papers 14871, Institute of Labor Economics (IZA).
    5. Alexander Maas & Liang Lu, 2021. "Elections have Consequences: Partisan Politics may be Literally Killing Us," Applied Health Economics and Health Policy, Springer, vol. 19(1), pages 45-56, January.
    6. Dripto Bakshi & Indraneel Dasgupta, 2021. "Internal vs. external rent-seeking with in-group inequality and public good provision," Discussion Papers 2021-06, University of Nottingham, CREDIT.
    7. Dasgupta, Indraneel & Pal, Sarmistha, 2021. "Touch thee not: Group conflict, caste power and untouchability in rural India," Journal of Comparative Economics, Elsevier, vol. 49(2), pages 442-466.
    8. Baik, Kyung Hwan & Jung, Hanjoon Michael, 2021. "Contests with multiple alternative prizes: Public-good/bad prizes and externalities," Journal of Mathematical Economics, Elsevier, vol. 92(C), pages 103-116.
    9. Christine S. Mele & David A. Siegel, 2019. "Identifiability, state repression, and the onset of ethnic conflict," Public Choice, Springer, vol. 181(3), pages 399-422, December.

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    More about this item

    Keywords

    contest; group-specific public good; local public good; ethnic conflict; within-group fragmentation;
    All these keywords.

    JEL classification:

    • D72 - Microeconomics - - Analysis of Collective Decision-Making - - - Political Processes: Rent-seeking, Lobbying, Elections, Legislatures, and Voting Behavior
    • D74 - Microeconomics - - Analysis of Collective Decision-Making - - - Conflict; Conflict Resolution; Alliances; Revolutions
    • O10 - Economic Development, Innovation, Technological Change, and Growth - - Economic Development - - - General
    • O20 - Economic Development, Innovation, Technological Change, and Growth - - Development Planning and Policy - - - General

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