The Employment Effects of Ethnic Politics

• 成果类型: Article
• 署名作者: Amodio, Francesco; Chiovelli, Giorgio; Hohmann, Sebastian
• 署名单位: McGill University; McGill University; Universidad de Montevideo
• 刊物名称: AMERICAN ECONOMIC JOURNAL-APPLIED ECONOMICS
• ISSN/ISSBN: 1945-7782
• DOI: 10.1257/app.20210579
• 发表日期: 2024
• 页码: 456-491
• 关键词: regression discontinuity designs; Chiefs; institutions; favoritism; DEMOCRACY; AGE

摘要

We study the labor market consequences of ethnic politics in African democracies. Using subnational georeferenced data from 15 countries from 1996 to 2017 , we compare individuals from ethnicities linked to parties at the margin of electing a representative in the national parliament. Having a local ethnic party politician in parliament increases the likelihood of being employed by 2 - 3 percentage points. The effect is concentrated in the agricultural sector and mostly driven by self-employment , suggesting increased access to land as the main channel. We also show that religion and age are salient markers in African politics that trigger similar employment effects. ( JEL D72, J15, J23, J43, O15, O17, Z12 )