Unity in Diversity? How Intergroup Contact Can Foster Nation Building

Samuel Bazzi, Arya Gaduh, , and Maisy Wong
Authors registered in the RePEc Author Service: Alexander David Rothenberg

No 12377, CEPR Discussion Papers from Centre for Economic Policy Research

Abstract: We use a population resettlement program in Indonesia to identify long-run effects of intergroup contact on national integration. In the 1980s, the government relocated two million ethnically diverse migrants into hundreds of new communities. We find greater integration in fractionalized communities with many small groups, as measured by national language use at home, intermarriage, and children's name choices. However, in polarized communities with a few large groups, ethnic attachment increases and integration declines. Residential segregation dampens these effects. Social capital, public goods, and ethnic conflict follow similar patterns. Overall, our findings highlight the importance of localized contact in shaping identity.

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)
Date: 2017-10
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 (5)

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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
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