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Democracy and Ethnic Favoritism: Evidence from Africa

Ethnic favoritism
Dictatorships
Democracy
Institutions

Hussain Hadah, “Democracy and Ethnic Favoritism: Evidence from Africa,” Under Review

Author
Affiliation
Hussain Hadah

Tulane University

Other details

Presented at the 2021 Southern Economic Association.

Abstract

What is the effect of democracy on ethnic favoritism? I estimate the relationship between co-ethnicity and five outcomes of public good provision – education, infant health, wealth, access to clean drinking water and access to electricity – using data from twentyone African countries. Following previous research, I use variation in co-ethnicity across ethnic groups and over time. I first estimate the relationship between these five outcomes and co-ethnicity in the full sample and then split the analysis between anocracies and democracies. I find mixed evidence of ethnic favoritism in the full sample. I find more evidence of co-ethnic targeting when comparing within democracies only and within anocracies only.

Citation

Hadah, Hussain, Democracy and Ethnic Favoritism: Evidence from Africa (September 8, 2023). Available at SSRN: https://ssrn.com/abstract=4566225 or http://dx.doi.org/10.2139/ssrn.4566225

@article{hadah2023ethnicfav,
    Author = {Hadah, Hussain},
    Title = {Democracy and Ethnic Favoritism: Evidence from Africa},
    Year = {2023}}