Understanding Ethnic Identity in Africa: Evidence from the Implicit Association Test (IAT)

Sara Lowes, Nathan Nunn, James Robinson and Jonathan Weigel

No 20885, NBER Working Papers from National Bureau of Economic Research, Inc

Abstract: We use a variant of the Implicit Association Test (IAT) to examine individuals’ implicit attitudes towards various ethnic groups. Using a population from the Democratic Republic of Congo, we find that the IAT measures show evidence of an implicit bias in favor of one’s own ethnicity. Individuals have implicit views of their own ethnic group that are more positive than their implicit views of other ethnic groups. We find this implicit bias to be quantitatively smaller than the (explicit) bias one finds when using self-reported attitudes about different ethnic groups.

JEL-codes: O1 O55 (search for similar items in EconPapers)
Date: 2015-01
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Published as Sara Lowes & Nathan Nunn & James A. Robinson & Jonathan Weigel, 2015. "Understanding Ethnic Identity in Africa: Evidence from the Implicit Association Test (IAT)," American Economic Review, American Economic Association, vol. 105(5), pages 340-45, May.

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Journal Article: Understanding Ethnic Identity in Africa: Evidence from the Implicit Association Test (IAT) (2015)
Working Paper: Understanding Ethnic Identity in Africa: Evidence from the Implicit Association Test (IAT) (2015)
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