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Does Exposure to Other Ethnic Regions Promote National Integration? : Evidence from Nigeria

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  • Okunogbe,Oyebola Motunrayo

Abstract

This paper examines how temporary migration to a different ethnic region affects national integration. It uses original survey data from individuals who were randomly exposed to different ethnic regions of Nigeria during their mandatory national service, the largest program of its kind in Africa. Comparing participants who served in a state where they are the ethnic majority to those who served in a state where they are not indicates two concurrent effects. First, interethnic exposure creates a stronger connection to the country as a whole: exposed participants have greater national pride and more positive attitudes about Nigeria, they are more knowledgeable about other parts of the country, and they are four times as likely to be living outside their ethnic region seven years later. Second, consistent with social identity theory, immersion in a different ethnic region highlights distinctions between groups and reinforces participants'connection to their ethnic group: exposed participants have more positive attitudes toward their own ethnic group, but not others, and are more likely to have all their closest friends from their ethnic group.

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  • Okunogbe,Oyebola Motunrayo, 2018. "Does Exposure to Other Ethnic Regions Promote National Integration? : Evidence from Nigeria," Policy Research Working Paper Series 8606, The World Bank.
  • Handle: RePEc:wbk:wbrwps:8606
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    File URL: http://documents.worldbank.org/curated/en/210921539090964091/pdf/WPS8606.pdf
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    Cited by:

    1. Heidi Kaila & Saurabh Singhal & Divya Tuteja, 2017. "Do fences make good neighbours?: Evidence from an insurgency in India," WIDER Working Paper Series wp-2017-158, World Institute for Development Economic Research (UNU-WIDER).
    2. Manuel Bagues & Christopher Roth, 2023. "Interregional Contact and the Formation of a Shared Identity," American Economic Journal: Economic Policy, American Economic Association, vol. 15(3), pages 322-350, August.
    3. Brülhart, Marius & Klinke, Gian-Paolo & Marcucci, Andrea & Rohner, Dominic & Thoenig, Mathias, 2023. "Price and Prejudice: Housing Rents Reveal Racial Animus," CEPR Discussion Papers 18050, C.E.P.R. Discussion Papers.
    4. Bagues, Manuel & Roth, Christopher, 2020. "Interregional Contact and National Identity," CAGE Online Working Paper Series 526, Competitive Advantage in the Global Economy (CAGE).
    5. Lee Crawfurd, 2021. "Contact and Commitment to Development: Evidence from quasi‐random missionary assignments," Kyklos, Wiley Blackwell, vol. 74(1), pages 3-18, February.
    6. Matthew Lowe, 2020. "Types of Contact: A Field Experiment on Collaborative and Adversarial Caste Integration," CESifo Working Paper Series 8089, CESifo.
    7. Cáceres-Delpiano, Julio & De Moragas, Antoni-Italo & Facchini, Gabriel & González, Ignacio, 2021. "Intergroup contact and nation building: Evidence from military service in Spain," Journal of Public Economics, Elsevier, vol. 201(C).

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