Intergroup contact and nation building: Evidence from military service in Spain

Julio Caceres-Delpiano, Antoni-Italo De Moragas, Gabriel Facchini and Ignacio González

Journal of Public Economics, 2021, vol. 201, issue C

Abstract: We study the long-term effects of intergroup contact on nation building by exploiting a national lottery that randomly allocated conscripts to different military areas across Spain. For men born in regions that feature a weak Spanish identity, we find that being assigned to military service in a different region substantially increases self-identification as Spanish, increases the likelihood of voting in national elections and reduces the probability of voting for a regionalist party. Moreover, in support of intergroup contact as the main mechanism behind these results, we find that movers are more likely than nonmovers to have friends from other regions.

Keywords: Nation building; Intergroup contact; Military service (search for similar items in EconPapers)
JEL-codes: D02 D71 J15 (search for similar items in EconPapers)
Date: 2021
References: Add references at CitEc
Citations: View citations in EconPapers (11)

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Working Paper: Intergroup contact and nation building: evidence from military service in Spain (2020)
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Persistent link: https://EconPapers.repec.org/RePEc:eee:pubeco:v:201:y:2021:i:c:s0047272721001134

DOI: 10.1016/j.jpubeco.2021.104477

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