03/03/2026 - 12:45 - Doyen 22
(UCLouvain, LIDAM, CORE)
will give a presentation on
Abstract
Are there particular social structures that allow ethnic diversity to coexist with political stability and economic prosperity? This paper examines the effects of interethnic proximity on political identity and economic development. We exploit fine-grained spatial variation from a British colonial resettlement policy in Malaysia (1948-1951), which forcibly relocated over half a million ethnic minority Chinese into segregated “Chinese New Villages” (CNVs). We find that ethnic majority Malays residing in polling districts closer to CNVs exhibit lower contemporary electoral support for the ethnonationalist coalition, potentially reflecting a moderation of ethno-nationalistic political identity. We also observe moderately positive impacts on contemporary economic prosperity. Positive political effects are stronger in regions with initial, historical interethnic complementarities—even in the absence of persistent economic prosperity. Novel primary survey data reveal that Malays living in closer proximity to CNVs report greater contact with Chinese, higher interethnic trust, and weaker zero-sum beliefs. Suggestively, these effects appear to be reversed in areas with greater interethnic competition. Throughout, broader impacts on social integration remain muted. Our findings highlight the promise and pitfalls of intergroup contact in jointly underpinning political moderation and economic development.