Leader Identity and Coordination

Sonia Bhalotra, Irma Clots-Figueras, Lakshmi Iyer and Joseph Vecci ()
Additional contact information
Joseph Vecci: University of Gothenburg

No 11803, IZA Discussion Papers from Institute of Labor Economics (IZA)

Abstract: This paper examines the effectiveness of leaders in addressing coordination failure in societies with ethnic or religious diversity. We experimentally vary leader identity in a coordination game and implement it in the field across 44 towns in India. We find that religious minority leaders (Muslims) improve coordination, while majority leaders (Hindus) do not. We test the effectiveness of intergroup contact and affirmative action, two commonly used policies to improve the well-being of minorities. Intergroup contact improves coordination irrespective of leader identity, but affirmative action leads to deterioration in coordination in Muslim-led groups alongside an increase in coordination in Hindu-led groups. We find that both policies are less effective for Muslim-led groups in towns with a recent history of religious conflict. Our findings contribute novel evidence to research on coordination failure, leader identity, policy alternatives for promoting integration of minorities, and conflict.

Keywords: religion; leader effectiveness; leader identity; conflict; India; affirmative action; coordination failure; intergroup contact (search for similar items in EconPapers)
JEL-codes: D70 D91 J78 P16 (search for similar items in EconPapers)
Pages: 53 pages
Date: 2018-09
New Economics Papers: this item is included in nep-evo and nep-exp
References: View references in EconPapers View complete reference list from CitEc
Citations: View citations in EconPapers (4)

Published - published in: Review of Economics and Statistics, 2023, 105 (1), 175–189.

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Related works:
Journal Article: Leader Identity and Coordination (2023)
Working Paper: Leader identity and coordination (2021)
Working Paper: Leader Identity and Coordination (2021)
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