Unity in Diversity? How Intergroup Contact Can Foster Nation Building

Samuel Bazzi, Arya Gaduh, Alexander Rothenberg and Maisy Wong
Additional contact information
Maisy Wong: University of Pennsylvania

No WP2018-006, Boston University - Department of Economics - Working Papers Series from Boston University - Department of Economics

Abstract: Throughout history, many governments have introduced policies to unite diverse groups through a shared sense of national identity. However, intergroup relationships at the local level are often slow to develop and confounded by spatial sorting and segregation. We shed new light on the long-run process of nation building using one of history's largest resettlement programs. Between 1979 and 1988, the Transmigration program in Indonesia relocated two million voluntary migrants from the Inner Islands of Java and Bali to the Outer Islands, in an effort to integrate geographically segregated ethnic groups. Migrants could not choose their destinations, and the unprecedented scale of the program created hundreds of new communities with varying degrees of diversity. We exploit this policy-induced variation to identify how diversity shapes incentives to integrate more than a decade after resettlement. Using rich data on language use at home, marriage, and identity choices, we find stronger integration in diverse communities. To understand why changes in diversity did not lead to social anomie or conflict, we identify mechanisms that influence intergroup relationships, including residential segregation, cultural distance, and perceived economic and political competition from migrants. Overall, our findings contribute lessons for the design of resettlement policies and provide a unique lens into the intergenerational process of integration and nation building.

Keywords: Diversity; Identity; Language; Cultural Change; Migration; Nation Building (search for similar items in EconPapers)
JEL-codes: D02 D71 J15 O15 R23 (search for similar items in EconPapers)
Pages: 74 pages
New Economics Papers: this item is included in nep-mig, nep-sea and nep-ure
References: View references in EconPapers View complete reference list from CitEc
Citations: View citations in EconPapers (2)

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Related works:
Journal Article: Unity in Diversity? How Intergroup Contact Can Foster Nation Building (2019)
Working Paper: Unity in Diversity? How Intergroup Contact Can Foster Nation Building (2019)
Working Paper: Unity in Diversity? How Intergroup Contact Can Foster Nation Building (2017)
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