Re-exhuming the old hatchet: The effects of affirmative action policies on political preferences in post-apartheid South Africa

Alessandro Belmonte, Davide Ticchi and Michele Ubaldi

No 1626, GLO Discussion Paper Series from Global Labor Organization (GLO)

Abstract: This paper studies whether affirmative action policies towards the outsider group may foster a backlash by the insider one. We exploit the unique historical context provided by the legacy of apartheid in democratic South Africa. We found that the completion of the affirmative action legislation increases the support for far-right parties in national elections by 0.2% to 0.3% on average. We documented that this effect is stronger in areas located closer to the territories of the former homelands. We also found that affirmative action changed the voting intentions of the individuals. This effect is primarily driven by increased self-perceived economic insecurity. Finally, we did not find evidence of an effect of the legislation on increased interethnic violence.

Keywords: Affirmative action; ethnic inequality; labor markets; South Africa; voting behavior (search for similar items in EconPapers)
JEL-codes: D72 J15 J78 K31 N37 (search for similar items in EconPapers)
Date: 2025
New Economics Papers: this item is included in nep-lma and nep-pol
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Persistent link: https://EconPapers.repec.org/RePEc:zbw:glodps:1626

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