Leader identity and coordination

Publication type

Research Paper

Series Number

1350

Series

Warwick Economics Research Papers

Authors

Publication date

April 15, 2021

Summary:

This paper examines policy effectiveness as a function of leader identity. We experimentally vary leader religious identity in a coordination game implemented in India, and focus upon citizen reactions to leader identity, controlling for leader actions. We find that minority leaders improve coordination, while majority leaders do not. Alternative treatment arms reveal that affirmative action for minorities reverses this result, while intergroup contact improves the effectiveness of leaders of both identities. We also find that minority leaders are less effective in towns with a history of intergroup conflict. Our results demonstrate that leader and policy effectiveness depend upon citizen reactions, conditioned by social identity and past conflict.

Subjects

Link

https://warwick.ac.uk/fac/soc/economics/research/workingpapers/2021/twerp_1350_-_bhalotra.pdf

Notes

Published as: Bhalotra, S., Clots-Figueras, I., Iyer, L., and Vecci, J. (2023) 'Leader identity and coordination', Review of Economics and Statistics, 105(1):175-189. https://doi.org/10.1162/rest_a_01040

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Related Publications

• Leader identity and coordination

  1. Sonia Bhalotra
  2. Irma Clots-Figueras
  3. Lakshmi Iyer
  4. Joseph Vecci

  Journal Article
  January 15, 2023