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The Employment Effects of Ethnic Politics

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  • Amodio, Francesco
  • Chiovelli, Giorgio
  • Hohmann, Sebastian

Abstract

This paper studies the labor market consequences of ethnic politics in African democracies. Using data from 15 countries, 32 elections, and more than 400,000 individuals, we implement a regression discontinuity design that compares individuals from ethnicities connected to parties at the margin of electing a local representative in the national parliament. Having a local ethnic party politician in parliament increases the likelihood of being employed by 2-3 pp. The available evidence supports the hypothesis that this effect results from strategic interactions between politicians and traditional leaders, the latter being empowered to allocate land and agricultural jobs in exchange for votes.

Suggested Citation

  • Amodio, Francesco & Chiovelli, Giorgio & Hohmann, Sebastian, 2019. "The Employment Effects of Ethnic Politics," CEPR Discussion Papers 14170, C.E.P.R. Discussion Papers.
    • Handle: RePEc:cpr:ceprdp:14170
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    3. Elias Papaioannou, 2020. "A Comment on: “State Capacity, Reciprocity, and the Social Contract” by Timothy Besley," Econometrica, Econometric Society, vol. 88(4), pages 1351-1358, July.

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    More about this item

    Keywords

    Ethnic politics; Employment; Democracy; Traditional leaders; Africa;
    All these keywords.

    JEL classification:

    • J15 - Labor and Demographic Economics - - Demographic Economics - - - Economics of Minorities, Races, Indigenous Peoples, and Immigrants; Non-labor Discrimination
    • J70 - Labor and Demographic Economics - - Labor Discrimination - - - General
    • O10 - Economic Development, Innovation, Technological Change, and Growth - - Economic Development - - - General
    • P26 - Political Economy and Comparative Economic Systems - - Socialist and Transition Economies - - - Property Rights
    • Q15 - Agricultural and Natural Resource Economics; Environmental and Ecological Economics - - Agriculture - - - Land Ownership and Tenure; Land Reform; Land Use; Irrigation; Agriculture and Environment

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