Unity in Diversity? How Intergroup Contact Can Foster Nation Building

Samuel Bazzi, Arya Gaduh, Alexander Rothenberg and Maisy Wong

No 25683, NBER Working Papers from National Bureau of Economic Research, Inc

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.

JEL-codes: D02 D71 J15 O15 R23 (search for similar items in EconPapers)
Date: 2019-03
New Economics Papers: this item is included in nep-mig, nep-sea and nep-ure
Note: DEV POL
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Published as Samuel Bazzi & Arya Gaduh & Alexander D. Rothenberg & Maisy Wong, 2019. "Unity in Diversity? How Intergroup Contact Can Foster Nation Building," American Economic Review, vol 109(11), pages 3978-4025.

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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 (2017)
Working Paper: Unity in Diversity? How Intergroup Contact Can Foster Nation Building
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