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Prejudice in Swiss Naturalization Decisions: Theory and Evidence

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  • Ilic, Dragan

Abstract

Recent empirical studies have revealed prejudice based on country of origin in the Swiss naturalization system before courts banned closed ballot voting in 2003. Although the switch to elected councils has ameliorated the situation for the discriminated applicant groups, little has been known about the issue since due to lack of microlevel data. This paper presents an alternative approach. I propose a simple model of a council deciding whether to grant applicants citizenships. The model implies an outcome test for relative prejudice using rejection rates grouped by country of origin. Importantly, this specific outcome test does not suffer from the well-known infra-marginality problem. The test is implemented with unique data from 2003 to 2012 raised from large Swiss municipalities to test the hypothesis of no relative prejudice.

Suggested Citation

  • Ilic, Dragan, 2013. "Prejudice in Swiss Naturalization Decisions: Theory and Evidence," VfS Annual Conference 2013 (Duesseldorf): Competition Policy and Regulation in a Global Economic Order 79953, Verein für Socialpolitik / German Economic Association.
    • Handle: RePEc:zbw:vfsc13:79953
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    References listed on IDEAS

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    1. Sahuguet, Nicolas & Mechoulan, Stéphane, 2011. "Assessing Racial Discrimination in Parole Release," CEPR Discussion Papers 8506, C.E.P.R. Discussion Papers.
    2. Shamena Anwar & Hanming Fang, 2015. "Testing for Racial Prejudice in the Parole Board Release Process: Theory and Evidence," The Journal of Legal Studies, University of Chicago Press, vol. 44(1), pages 1-37.
    3. Kaas Leo & Manger Christian, 2012. "Ethnic Discrimination in Germany’s Labour Market: A Field Experiment," German Economic Review, De Gruyter, vol. 13(1), pages 1-20, February.
    4. Marianne Bertrand & Sendhil Mullainathan, 2004. "Are Emily and Greg More Employable Than Lakisha and Jamal? A Field Experiment on Labor Market Discrimination," American Economic Review, American Economic Association, vol. 94(4), pages 991-1013, September.
    5. Hainmueller, Jens & Hangartner, Dominik, 2013. "Who Gets a Swiss Passport? A Natural Experiment in Immigrant Discrimination," American Political Science Review, Cambridge University Press, vol. 107(1), pages 159-187, February.
    6. Shamena Anwar & Hanming Fang, 2006. "An Alternative Test of Racial Prejudice in Motor Vehicle Searches: Theory and Evidence," American Economic Review, American Economic Association, vol. 96(1), pages 127-151, March.
    Full references (including those not matched with items on IDEAS)

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    More about this item

    JEL classification:

    • J71 - Labor and Demographic Economics - - Labor Discrimination - - - Hiring and Firing
    • K42 - Law and Economics - - Legal Procedure, the Legal System, and Illegal Behavior - - - Illegal Behavior and the Enforcement of Law
    • J70 - Labor and Demographic Economics - - Labor Discrimination - - - General

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