IDEAS home Printed from https://ideas.repec.org/p/iza/izadps/dp17776.html
   My bibliography  Save this paper

Interethnic Proximity and Political Development

Author

Listed:
  • Kok, Chun Chee

    (Monash University)

  • Lim, Gedeon

    (Hong Kong university)

  • Shariat, Danial

    (UC Berkeley)

  • Siddique, Abu

    (Royal Holloway, University of London)

  • Tsuda, Shunsuke

    (University of Essex)

Abstract

We exploit a population resettlement program of ethnic minorities in Malaysia to identify long-run effects of interethnic proximity on economic and political development. From 1948 to 1951, the colonial government moved 500,000 rural Chinese into hundreds of isolated, mono-ethnic camps. In ethnic majority Malay communities adjacent to these camps, we find greater economic prosperity and lower vote shares for the ethno-nationalist Malay party. Effects are stronger in areas with historical, interethnic economic complementarities. Primary survey data suggests that trust-building and social integration were key channels. Our findings highlight the importance of persistent, localized contact in the co-evolution of economic and political development.

Suggested Citation

  • Kok, Chun Chee & Lim, Gedeon & Shariat, Danial & Siddique, Abu & Tsuda, Shunsuke, 2025. "Interethnic Proximity and Political Development," IZA Discussion Papers 17776, Institute of Labor Economics (IZA).
    • Handle: RePEc:iza:izadps:dp17776
    as

    Download full text from publisher

    File URL: https://docs.iza.org/dp17776.pdf
    Download Restriction: no
    ---><---

    References listed on IDEAS

    as
    1. Sascha O. Becker & Ludger Woessmann, 2009. "Was Weber Wrong? A Human Capital Theory of Protestant Economic History," The Quarterly Journal of Economics, President and Fellows of Harvard College, vol. 124(2), pages 531-596.
    2. David Autor & David Dorn & Gordon Hanson & Kaveh Majlesi, 2020. "Importing Political Polarization? The Electoral Consequences of Rising Trade Exposure," American Economic Review, American Economic Association, vol. 110(10), pages 3139-3183, October.
    3. Abu Siddique & Michael Vlassopoulos & Yves Zenou, 2024. "Leveraging edutainment and social networks to foster interethnic harmony," IFS Working Papers W24/20, Institute for Fiscal Studies.
    4. Raj Chetty & Matthew O. Jackson & Theresa Kuchler & Johannes Stroebel & Nathaniel Hendren & Robert B. Fluegge & Sara Gong & Federico Gonzalez & Armelle Grondin & Matthew Jacob & Drew Johnston & Martin, 2022. "Social capital I: measurement and associations with economic mobility," Nature, Nature, vol. 608(7921), pages 108-121, August.
    5. Arellano-Bover, Jaime, 2022. "Displacement, Diversity, and Mobility: Career Impacts of Japanese American Internment," The Journal of Economic History, Cambridge University Press, vol. 82(1), pages 126-174, March.
    6. Edward Glaeser & Giacomo Ponzetto & Andrei Shleifer, 2007. "Why does democracy need education?," Journal of Economic Growth, Springer, vol. 12(2), pages 77-99, June.
    7. Christian Dustmann & Kristine Vasiljeva & Anna Piil Damm, 2019. "Refugee Migration and Electoral Outcomes," The Review of Economic Studies, Review of Economic Studies Ltd, vol. 86(5), pages 2035-2091.
    8. Ravallion, Martin, 2020. "Ethnic inequality and poverty in Malaysia since May 1969. Part 1: Inequality," World Development, Elsevier, vol. 134(C).
    9. Yann Algan & Nicolò Dalvit & Quoc-Anh Do & Alexis Le Chapelain & Yves Zenou, 2019. "Friendship Networks and Political Opinions: A Natural Experiment among Future French Politicians," Working Papers hal-03393089, HAL.
    10. Stephen B. Billings & Eric Chyn & Kareem Haggag, 2021. "The Long-Run Effects of School Racial Diversity on Political Identity," American Economic Review: Insights, American Economic Association, vol. 3(3), pages 267-284, September.
    11. Gerhard Toews & Pierre-Louis Vézina, 2025. "Enemies of the People," American Economic Journal: Macroeconomics, American Economic Association, vol. 17(1), pages 310-342, January.
    12. Nathan Nunn, 2009. "The Importance of History for Economic Development," Annual Review of Economics, Annual Reviews, vol. 1(1), pages 65-92, May.
    13. Alberto Alesina & Ekaterina Zhuravskaya, 2011. "Segregation and the Quality of Government in a Cross Section of Countries," American Economic Review, American Economic Association, vol. 101(5), pages 1872-1911, August.
    14. John Gibson, 2021. "Better Night Lights Data, For Longer," Oxford Bulletin of Economics and Statistics, Department of Economics, University of Oxford, vol. 83(3), pages 770-791, June.
    15. Yann Algan & Camille Hémet & David D. Laitin, 2016. "The Social Effects of Ethnic Diversity at the Local Level: A Natural Experiment with Exogenous Residential Allocation," Journal of Political Economy, University of Chicago Press, vol. 124(3), pages 696-733.
    16. Stelios Michalopoulos & Elias Papaioannou, 2013. "Pre‐Colonial Ethnic Institutions and Contemporary African Development," Econometrica, Econometric Society, vol. 81(1), pages 113-152, January.
    17. Barone, Guglielmo & D'Ignazio, Alessio & de Blasio, Guido & Naticchioni, Paolo, 2016. "Mr. Rossi, Mr. Hu and politics. The role of immigration in shaping natives' voting behavior," Journal of Public Economics, Elsevier, vol. 136(C), pages 1-13.
    18. Marco Manacorda & Edward Miguel & Andrea Vigorito, 2011. "Government Transfers and Political Support," American Economic Journal: Applied Economics, American Economic Association, vol. 3(3), pages 1-28, July.
    19. Alberto Alesina & Marco Tabellini, 2024. "The Political Effects of Immigration: Culture or Economics?," Journal of Economic Literature, American Economic Association, vol. 62(1), pages 5-46, March.
    20. repec:hal:spmain:info:hdl:2441/4rm8ji0nae9elbggr366la3786 is not listed on IDEAS
    21. Gilles Duranton & Diego Puga, 2020. "The Economics of Urban Density," Journal of Economic Perspectives, American Economic Association, vol. 34(3), pages 3-26, Summer.
    22. Jeffrey R Kling & Jeffrey B Liebman & Lawrence F Katz, 2007. "Experimental Analysis of Neighborhood Effects," Econometrica, Econometric Society, vol. 75(1), pages 83-119, January.
    23. Sascha O. Becker & Irena Grosfeld & Pauline Grosjean & Nico Voigtländer & Ekaterina Zhuravskaya, 2020. "Forced Migration and Human Capital: Evidence from Post-WWII Population Transfers," American Economic Review, American Economic Association, vol. 110(5), pages 1430-1463, May.
    24. Alan S. Gerber & Dean Karlan & Daniel Bergan, 2009. "Does the Media Matter? A Field Experiment Measuring the Effect of Newspapers on Voting Behavior and Political Opinions," American Economic Journal: Applied Economics, American Economic Association, vol. 1(2), pages 35-52, April.
    25. Martin Halla & Alexander F. Wagner & Josef Zweimüller, 2017. "Immigration and Voting for the Far Right," Journal of the European Economic Association, European Economic Association, vol. 15(6), pages 1341-1385.
    26. Yann Algan & Camille Hémet & David D. Laitin, 2016. "The Social Effects of Ethnic Diversity at the Local Level: A Natural Experiment with Exogenous Residential Allocation," Journal of Political Economy, University of Chicago Press, vol. 124(3), pages 696-733.
    27. Daron Acemoglu & Simon Johnson & James A. Robinson, 2001. "The Colonial Origins of Comparative Development: An Empirical Investigation," American Economic Review, American Economic Association, vol. 91(5), pages 1369-1401, December.
    28. Bladimir Carrillo & Carlos Charris & Wilman Iglesias, 2023. "Moved to Poverty? A Legacy of the Apartheid Experiment in South Africa," American Economic Journal: Economic Policy, American Economic Association, vol. 15(4), pages 183-221, November.
    29. Calabrese, Stephen & Epple, Dennis & Romer, Thomas & Sieg, Holger, 2006. "Local public good provision: Voting, peer effects, and mobility," Journal of Public Economics, Elsevier, vol. 90(6-7), pages 959-981, August.
    30. Ravallion, Martin, 2020. "Ethnic inequality and poverty in Malaysia since May 1969. Part 2: Poverty," World Development, Elsevier, vol. 134(C).
    31. Alvaro Calderon & Vasiliki Fouka & Marco Tabellini, 2023. "Racial Diversity and Racial Policy Preferences: The Great Migration and Civil Rights," The Review of Economic Studies, Review of Economic Studies Ltd, vol. 90(1), pages 165-200.
    32. Kirill Borusyak & Peter Hull, 2023. "Nonrandom Exposure to Exogenous Shocks," Econometrica, Econometric Society, vol. 91(6), pages 2155-2185, November.
    33. Samuel Bazzi & Arya Gaduh & Alexander D. Rothenberg & Maisy Wong, 2019. "Unity in Diversity? How Intergroup Contact Can Foster Nation Building," American Economic Review, American Economic Association, vol. 109(11), pages 3978-4025, November.
    34. Samuel Bazzi & Arya Gaduh & Alexander D. Rothenberg & Maisy Wong, 2016. "Skill Transferability, Migration, and Development: Evidence from Population Resettlement in Indonesia," American Economic Review, American Economic Association, vol. 106(9), pages 2658-2698, September.
    35. Alberto Alesina & Eliana La Ferrara, 2003. "Ethnic Diversity and Economic Performance," Harvard Institute of Economic Research Working Papers 2028, Harvard - Institute of Economic Research.
    36. Gautam Rao, 2019. "Familiarity Does Not Breed Contempt: Generosity, Discrimination, and Diversity in Delhi Schools," American Economic Review, American Economic Association, vol. 109(3), pages 774-809, March.
    37. Abel, Martin, 2019. "Long-Run Effects of Forced Resettlement: Evidence from Apartheid South Africa," The Journal of Economic History, Cambridge University Press, vol. 79(4), pages 915-953, December.
    38. repec:hal:spmain:info:hdl:2441/6lcb7ovms687vbos73r9r0is5g is not listed on IDEAS
    39. Leonardo Bursztyn & Thomas Chaney & Tarek A. Hassan & Aakaash Rao, 2024. "The Immigrant Next Door," American Economic Review, American Economic Association, vol. 114(2), pages 348-384, February.
    40. Alix-Garcia, Jennifer & Walker, Sarah & Bartlett, Anne & Onder, Harun & Sanghi, Apurva, 2018. "Do refugee camps help or hurt hosts? The case of Kakuma, Kenya," Journal of Development Economics, Elsevier, vol. 130(C), pages 66-83.
    41. Fausto Panunzi & Nicola Pavoni & Guido Tabellini, 2024. "Economic Shocks and Populism," The Economic Journal, Royal Economic Society, vol. 134(663), pages 3047-3061.
    42. Melissa Dell & Benjamin A Olken, 2020. "The Development Effects of the Extractive Colonial Economy: The Dutch Cultivation System in Java," The Review of Economic Studies, Review of Economic Studies Ltd, vol. 87(1), pages 164-203.
    43. Anton Cheremukhin & Mikhail Golosov & Sergei Guriev & Aleh Tsyvinski, 2024. "The Political Development Cycle: The Right and the Left in People's Republic of China from 1953," American Economic Review, American Economic Association, vol. 114(4), pages 1107-1139, April.
    44. Edward L. Glaeser, 2005. "The Political Economy of Hatred," The Quarterly Journal of Economics, President and Fellows of Harvard College, vol. 120(1), pages 45-86.
    45. Andreas Steinmayr, 2021. "Contact versus Exposure: Refugee Presence and Voting for the Far Right," The Review of Economics and Statistics, MIT Press, vol. 103(2), pages 310-327, May.
    46. Tabellini, Marco, 2020. "Gifts of the Immigrants, Woes of the Natives: Lessons from the Age of Mass Migration," CEPR Discussion Papers 14317, C.E.P.R. Discussion Papers.
    47. Sergei Guriev & Elias Papaioannou, 2022. "The Political Economy of Populism," Journal of Economic Literature, American Economic Association, vol. 60(3), pages 753-832, September.
    48. Tsuda, Shunsuke, 2022. "Refugee inflows, surplus farm labor, and crop marketization in rural Africa," Journal of Development Economics, Elsevier, vol. 155(C).
    49. Michael Peters, 2022. "Market Size and Spatial Growth—Evidence From Germany's Post‐War Population Expulsions," Econometrica, Econometric Society, vol. 90(5), pages 2357-2396, September.
    50. Vasiliki Fouka & Soumyajit Mazumder & Marco Tabellini, 2022. "From Immigrants to Americans: Race and Assimilation during the Great Migration," The Review of Economic Studies, Review of Economic Studies Ltd, vol. 89(2), pages 811-842.
    51. Raj Chetty & Nathaniel Hendren & Lawrence F. Katz, 2016. "The Effects of Exposure to Better Neighborhoods on Children: New Evidence from the Moving to Opportunity Experiment," American Economic Review, American Economic Association, vol. 106(4), pages 855-902, April.
    52. Matt Lowe, 2021. "Types of Contact: A Field Experiment on Collaborative and Adversarial Caste Integration," American Economic Review, American Economic Association, vol. 111(6), pages 1807-1844, June.
    53. Pranab Bardhan & Dilip Mookherjee, 2010. "Determinants of Redistributive Politics: An Empirical Analysis of Land Reforms in West Bengal, India," American Economic Review, American Economic Association, vol. 100(4), pages 1572-1600, September.
    54. Marco Tabellini, 2020. "Gifts of the Immigrants, Woes of the Natives: Lessons from the Age of Mass Migration," The Review of Economic Studies, Review of Economic Studies Ltd, vol. 87(1), pages 454-486.
    Full references (including those not matched with items on IDEAS)

    Most related items

    These are the items that most often cite the same works as this one and are cited by the same works as this one.
    1. Chun Chee Kok & Gedeon J. Lim, 2024. "Ethnic Proximity and Politics: Evidence from Colonial Resettlement in Malaysia," SoDa Laboratories Working Paper Series 2024-06, Monash University, SoDa Laboratories.
    2. Fremerey, Melinda & Hörnig, Lukas & Schaffner, Sandra, 2024. "Becoming neighbors with refugees and voting for the far-right? The impact of refugee inflows at the small-scale level," Labour Economics, Elsevier, vol. 86(C).
    3. Alberto Alesina & Marco Tabellini, 2024. "The Political Effects of Immigration: Culture or Economics?," Journal of Economic Literature, American Economic Association, vol. 62(1), pages 5-46, March.
    4. Alvaro Calderon & Vasiliki Fouka & Marco Tabellini, 2021. "Racial Diversity and Racial Policy Preferences: The Great Migration and Civil Rights," RF Berlin - CReAM Discussion Paper Series 2133, Rockwool Foundation Berlin (RF Berlin) - Centre for Research and Analysis of Migration (CReAM).
    5. Pascal Achard & Sigrid Suetens, 2023. "The causal effect of ethnic diversity on support for redistribution and the role of discrimination," Journal of Economic Surveys, Wiley Blackwell, vol. 37(5), pages 1678-1696, December.
    6. Gagnon, Nickolas, 2024. "On your own side of the fence," Journal of Economic Behavior & Organization, Elsevier, vol. 226(C).
    7. Sekou Keita & Thomas Renault & Jérôme Valette, 2024. "The Usual Suspects: Offender Origin, Media Reporting and Natives’ Attitudes Towards Immigration," The Economic Journal, Royal Economic Society, vol. 134(657), pages 322-362.
    8. Lebow, Jeremy & Moreno-Medina, Jonathan & Mousa, Salma & Coral, Horacio, 2024. "Migrant exposure and anti-migrant sentiment: The case of the Venezuelan exodus," Journal of Public Economics, Elsevier, vol. 236(C).
    9. Sergei Guriev & Elias Papaioannou, 2022. "The Political Economy of Populism," Journal of Economic Literature, American Economic Association, vol. 60(3), pages 753-832, September.
    10. Calderon, Alvaro & Fouka, Vasiliki & Tabellini, Marco, 2021. "Racial Diversity and Racial Policy Preferences: The Great Migration and Civil Rights," IZA Discussion Papers 14488, Institute of Labor Economics (IZA).
    11. Polipciuc, Maria & Cörvers, Frank & Montizaan, Raymond, 2023. "Peers’ race in adolescence and voting behavior," Economics of Education Review, Elsevier, vol. 97(C).
    12. Hennig, Jakob, 2021. "Neighborhood quality and opposition to immigration: Evidence from German refugee shelters," Journal of Development Economics, Elsevier, vol. 150(C).
    13. Itoh, Ryo & Sato, Yasuhiro & Zenou, Yves, 2024. "Intergenerational assimilation of minorities: The role of the majority group," European Economic Review, Elsevier, vol. 164(C).
    14. Cerqua, Augusto & Zampollo, Federico, 2023. "Deeds or words? The local influence of anti-immigrant parties on foreigners’ flows," European Journal of Political Economy, Elsevier, vol. 77(C).
    15. Calderon, Alvaro & Fouka, Vasiliki & Tabellini, Marco, 2021. "Racial Diversity, Electoral Preferences, and the Supply of Policy: The Great Migration and Civil Rights," IZA Discussion Papers 14312, Institute of Labor Economics (IZA).
    16. Campo, Francesco & Giunti, Sara & Mendola, Mariapia, 2024. "Refugee crisis and right-wing populism: Evidence from the Italian Dispersal Policy," European Economic Review, Elsevier, vol. 168(C).
    17. Eriksson, Katherine & Alsan, Marcella & Niemesh, Gregory T., 2020. "Understanding the Success of the Know-Nothing Party," CEPR Discussion Papers 15562, C.E.P.R. Discussion Papers.
    18. Frédéric Docquier & Ariane Gordan & Michel Tenikue & Aleksa Uljarevic, 2024. "Attitudes towards Immigration in a Highly Multicultural Society: The Roles of Foreign Background and Local Exposure," LISER Working Paper Series 2024-08, Luxembourg Institute of Socio-Economic Research (LISER).
    19. Bohnet, Lara & Peralta, Susana & Pereira dos Santos, João, 2022. "Cousins from Overseas: The Labour Market Impact of a Major Forced Return Migration Shock," IZA Discussion Papers 15595, Institute of Labor Economics (IZA).
    20. Bertocchi, Graziella & Dimico, Arcangelo & Tedeschi, Gian Luca, 2022. "Strangers and Foreigners: Trust and Attitudes toward Citizenship," IZA Discussion Papers 15042, Institute of Labor Economics (IZA).

    More about this item

    Keywords

    Malaysia; development; political preference; ethnicity; Chinese;
    All these keywords.

    JEL classification:

    • D72 - Microeconomics - - Analysis of Collective Decision-Making - - - Political Processes: Rent-seeking, Lobbying, Elections, Legislatures, and Voting Behavior
    • O15 - Economic Development, Innovation, Technological Change, and Growth - - Economic Development - - - Economic Development: Human Resources; Human Development; Income Distribution; Migration
    • R23 - Urban, Rural, Regional, Real Estate, and Transportation Economics - - Household Analysis - - - Regional Migration; Regional Labor Markets; Population
    • J15 - Labor and Demographic Economics - - Demographic Economics - - - Economics of Minorities, Races, Indigenous Peoples, and Immigrants; Non-labor Discrimination

    Statistics

    Access and download statistics

    Corrections

    All material on this site has been provided by the respective publishers and authors. You can help correct errors and omissions. When requesting a correction, please mention this item's handle: RePEc:iza:izadps:dp17776. See general information about how to correct material in RePEc.

    If you have authored this item and are not yet registered with RePEc, we encourage you to do it here. This allows to link your profile to this item. It also allows you to accept potential citations to this item that we are uncertain about.

    If CitEc recognized a bibliographic reference but did not link an item in RePEc to it, you can help with this form .

    If you know of missing items citing this one, you can help us creating those links by adding the relevant references in the same way as above, for each refering item. If you are a registered author of this item, you may also want to check the "citations" tab in your RePEc Author Service profile, as there may be some citations waiting for confirmation.

    For technical questions regarding this item, or to correct its authors, title, abstract, bibliographic or download information, contact: Holger Hinte (email available below). General contact details of provider: https://edirc.repec.org/data/izaaade.html .

    Please note that corrections may take a couple of weeks to filter through the various RePEc services.

    IDEAS is a RePEc service. RePEc uses bibliographic data supplied by the respective publishers.