Interregional Contact and the Formation of a Shared Identity

• 成果类型: Article
• 署名作者: Bagues, Manuel; Roth, Christopher
• 署名单位: University of Warwick; Centre for Economic Policy Research - UK; IZA Institute Labor Economics; University of Cologne; Leibniz Association; Ifo Institut; Max Planck Society
• 刊物名称: AMERICAN ECONOMIC JOURNAL-ECONOMIC POLICY
• ISSN/ISSBN: 1945-7731
• DOI: 10.1257/pol.20210237
• 发表日期: 2023
• 页码: 322-350
• 关键词: military conscription; draft lottery; nation

摘要

We study the long-run effects of contact with individuals from other regions in early adulthood on preferences, beliefs, and national identity. We combine a natural experiment, the random assignment of male conscripts to different locations throughout Spain, with tailored survey data. Being randomly assigned to complete military service outside of one's region of residence fosters contact with conscripts from other regions and increases sympathy and trust toward people from the region of service, as measured decades later. We also observe a long-lasting increase in identification with Spain for individuals originating from regions with strong peripheral nationalism. (JELD 12, D83, D91, J45, R23, Z13.)