Harsh Rhetoric and Cultural Identity: Backlash Effects of Denmark’s Ghetto List

Mette Foged, Teresa Freitas-Monteiro and Linea Hasager

No 25158, RFBerlin Discussion Paper Series from ROCKWOOL Foundation Berlin (RFBerlin)

Abstract: We study how the cultural identity of non-Western residents responds to the official labeling of their neighborhoods as "Ghettos" and accompanying political rhetoric emphasizing cultural difference. Using a Regression Discontinuity design, we find that non-Western residents in listed neighborhoods become more likely to give their children foreign-sounding names. This shift was accompanied by lower enrollment in early childcare, more traditional gender attitudes, stronger self-identification as an immigrant or member of a religious group, and lower propensity to follow Danish news. Socioeconomic integration was unaffected, and residential composition did not change, suggesting that the policy's stigmatizing nature and public discourse catalyzed the observed cultural backlash.

Keywords: Rhetoric; Cultural Identity; Regression Discontinuity. (search for similar items in EconPapers)
JEL-codes: D72 H00 J15 Z10 Z18 (search for similar items in EconPapers)
Date: 2025-12
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