Hostname: page-component-cd9895bd7-dzt6s Total loading time: 0 Render date: 2024-12-31T15:16:23.018Z Has data issue: false hasContentIssue false
  • English
  • Français

Ethnicity on the Sleeve and Class in the Heart

When do People Respond to Identity and Material Interests?

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  30 January 2013

Daniel Corstange
Get access Rights & Permissions [Opens in a new window]

Abstract

Are voting rights a class or an ethnic issue? They are both in the diverse societies of the developing world, yet the salience of ethnicity in public discourse frequently compels people to articulate identity demands that may be inconsistent with their material interests, particularly among the rich. This article examines these ideas with an augmented list experiment about illiterate voting rights in Lebanon. Consistent with received wisdom, direct questions yield identity-based answers in which Shiites are more supportive of voting rights than are Sunnis or Christians. Unobtrusive questions, in contrast, yield answers about material deprivation in which poor people are more supportive of illiterate voting than are rich people. The divergence between public statements and private preferences helps to reconcile theoretical predictions that people respond to material incentives with empirical findings that they pursue identity interests.

Type
Articles
Information
British Journal of Political Science , Volume 43 , Issue 4 , October 2013 , pp. 889 - 914
Copyright
Copyright © Cambridge University Press 2013 

Access options

Get access to the full version of this content by using one of the access options below. (Log in options will check for institutional or personal access. Content may require purchase if you do not have access.)

Footnotes

*

Assistant Professor, Department of Political Science and School of International and Public Affairs, Columbia University (email: [email protected]).

References

Acemoglu, D.Robinson, J.A.. 2000. Why did the West Extend the Franchise? Democracy, Inequality, and Growth in Historical Perspective. Quarterly Journal of Economics 115 (4):1167–1199.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Acemoglu, D.Robinson, J.A.. 2006. Economic Origins of Dictatorship and Democracy. New York: Cambridge University Press.Google Scholar
Ajami, F. 1986. The Vanished Imam: Musa al Sadr and the Shia of Lebanon. Ithaca, NY: Cornell University Press.Google Scholar
Akerlof, G.Kranton, R.. 2000. Economics and Identity. Quarterly Journal of Economics 115 (3):715–753.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Alesina, A., Baqir, R.Easterly, W.. 1999. Public Goods and Ethnic Divisions. Quarterly Journal of Economics 114 (4):1243–1284.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Bashir, I. 1994. Development in Lebanon. Beirut: Learning for the Millions Press. Arabic.Google Scholar
Bashir, I. 2006. Sectarianism in Lebanon Until When? Beirut: University Institute for Studies. Arabic.Google Scholar
Bates, R.H. 1974. Ethnic Competition and Modernization in Contemporary Africa. Comparative Political Studies 6 (4):457–484.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Bates, R.H. 1983. Modernization, Ethnic Competition, and the Rationality of Politics in Contemporary Africa. In State Versus Ethnic Claims: African Policy Dilemmas, edited by D. Rothchild and V. Olorunsola, 152–171. Boulder: Westview Press.Google Scholar
Berinsky, A.J. 1999. The Two Faces of Public Opinion. American Journal of Political Science 43 (4):1209–1230.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Berinsky, A.J. 2004. Silent Voices: Public Opinion and Political Participation in America. Princeton: Princeton University Press.Google Scholar
Boix, C. 2001. Democracy, Development, and the Public Sector. American Journal of Political Science 45 (1):1–17.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Boix, C. 2003. Democracy and Redistribution. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Bratton, M., Bhavnani, R.Chen, T.-H.. 2012. Voting Intentions in Africa: Ethnic, Economic, or Partisan? Commonwealth and Comparative Studies 50 (1):27–52.Google Scholar
Brehm, J. 1993. The Phantom Respondents. Ann Arbor: University of Michigan Press.Google Scholar
Calvert, R. 2002. Identity, Expression, and Rational-Choice Theory. In Political Science: The State of the Discipline, edited by I. Katznelson and H. V. Milner, 568–596. New York: W. W. Norton & Company.Google Scholar
Cammett, M. 2011. Partisan Activism and Access to Welfare in Lebanon. Studies in Comparative International Development 46 (1):70–97.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Chalabi, T. 2006. The Shi'is of Jabal ‘Amil and the New Lebanon. New York: Palgrave MacMillan.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Chandra, K. 2004. Why Ethnic Parties Succeed. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Chandra, K. 2006. What is Ethnic Identity and Does it Matter? Annual Review of Political Science 9: 397–424.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Chong, D.Druckman, J.N.. 2007. Framing Theory. Annual Review of Political Science 10: 103–126.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Collier, P. 1999. The Political Economy of Ethnicity. In Annual World Bank Conference on Development Economics 1998, edited by B. Pleskovic and J. Stiglitz, 387–411. Washington: World Bank.Google Scholar
Corstange, D. 2009. Sensitive Questions, Truthful Answers? Modeling the List Experiment with LISTIT. Political Analysis 17 (1):45–63.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Corstange, D. 2012a. Religion, Pluralism, and Iconography in the Public Sphere: Theory and Evidence from Lebanon. World Politics 64 (1):116–160.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Corstange, D. 2012b. Vote Trafficking in Lebanon. International Journal of Middle East Studies 44 (3):285–289.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Daily Star. 2008. ‘Tabourian: “No quick solutions” to power woes’, 23 July.Google Scholar
Deeb, L. 2006. An Enchanted Modern: Gender and Public Piety in Shi'i Lebanon. Princeton: Princeton University Press.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Easterly, W.Levine, R.. 1997. Africa's Growth Tragedy: Policies and Ethnic Divisions. Quarterly Journal of Economics 112 (4):1203–1250.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
el Khazen, F. 2000. The Postwar Lebanese Elections of 1992, 1996, and 2000: Democracy Without Choice. Beirut: Annahar Press. Arabic.Google Scholar
el Khazen, F. 2002. Political Parties in Lebanon: The Limits of Democracy in Party Experience. Beirut: The Lebanese Center for Policy Studies. Arabic.Google Scholar
Fadlallah, H. 1997. The Political and Reformist Thought of Imam Musa al-Sadr. Beirut: Dar al-Hadi. Arabic.Google Scholar
Fadlallah, M.H. 2001. Princes and Tribes: Lebanese Facts and Secrets. Beirut: Riad El-Rayyes Books. Compilation: NajibNoural-Din. Arabic.Google Scholar
Gaspard, T.K. 2004. A Political Economy of Lebanon, 1948–2002. Boston: Brill.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Ghalioun, B. 1990. The Sectarian System: From State to Tribe. Beirut: Arab Cultural Center. Arabic.Google Scholar
Gharib, H.K. 2001. Toward an Intellectual-Political History of the Shia of Lebanon, Volume 2. Beirut: Literary Treasures Press. Arabic.Google Scholar
Hanmer, M.J.Kalkan, H.O. (2012). Behind the Curve: Clarifying the Best Approach to Calculating Predicted Probabilities and Marginal Effects from Limited Dependent Variable Models. American Journal of Political Science (forthcoming).Google Scholar
Hardin, R. 1995. One for All: The Logic of Group Conflict. Princeton: Princeton University Press.Google Scholar
Hashishu, N. 1998. Parties in Lebanon. Beirut: Center for Strategic Studies, Research, and Documentation. Arabic.Google Scholar
Havel, V. 1985 [1978]. The Power of the Powerless. In The Power of the Powerless: Citizens Against the State in Central-Eastern Europe, edited by J. Keane, 23–96. Armonk, NY: M.E. Sharpe.Google Scholar
Hicken, A.D. 2011. Clientelism. Annual Review of Political Science 14:289–310.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Hirschman, A. 1970. Exit, Voice, and Loyalty. Cambridge: Harvard University Press.Google Scholar
Horowitz, D.L. 1985. Ethnic Groups in Conflict. Berkeley: University of California Press.Google Scholar
Hoss, S. 2003. Us and Sectarianism. Beirut: All Prints Distributors and Publishers. Arabic.Google Scholar
Huddy, L. 2001. From Social to Political Identity: A Critical Examination of Social Identity Theory. Political Psychology 22 (1):127–156.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Huddy, L. 2003. Group Identity and Political Cohesion. In Oxford Handbook of Political Psychology, edited by D.O. Sears, L. Huddy, and R. Jervis, 511–558. New York: Oxford University Press.Google Scholar
Hudson, M.C. 1968. The Precarious Republic: Political Modernization in Lebanon. New York: Random House.Google Scholar
International Monetary Fund. 2005 Lebanon: 2005 Article IV Consultation Discussions Preliminary Conclusions.Google Scholar
Kasara, K. 2007. Tax Me if You Can: Ethnic Geography, Democracy, and the Taxation of Agriculture in Africa. American Political Science Review 101 (1):159–172.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Keefer, P. 2007. Clientelism, Credibility, and the Policy Choices of Young Democracies. American Journal of Political Science 51 (4):804–821.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Keefer, P.Vlaicu, R.. 2008. Democracy, Credibility, and Clientelism. Journal of Law, Economics, & Organization 24 (2):371–406.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Key, V.O. 1949. Southern Politics. New York: Alfred. A. Knopf.Google Scholar
Khashan, H. 1992. Inside the Lebanese Confessional Mind. New York: University Press of America.Google Scholar
Kitschelt, H. 2000. Linkages between Citizens and Politicians in Democratic Polities. Comparative Political Studies 33 (6–7):845–879.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Kitschelt, H.Wilkinson, S.I., eds. 2007. Patrons, Clients, and Policies. New York: Cambridge University Press.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Kuklinski, J.H., Cobb, M.D.Gilens, M.. 1997. Racial Attitudes and the ‘New South’. Journal of Politics 59 (2):323–349.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Kuklinski, J.H., Sniderman, P., Knight, K., Piazza, T., Tetlock, P., Lawrence, G.Mellers, B.. 1997. Racial Prejudice and Attitudes toward Affirmative Action. American Journal of Political Science 41 (2):402–419.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Kuran, T. 1995. Private Truths, Public Lies. Cambridge: Harvard University Press.Google Scholar
Laithy, H., Abu-Ismail, K., Hamdan, K. 2008. Poverty, Growth and Income Distribution in Lebanon. Country Study 13, International Poverty Centre.Google Scholar
Lebanese Association for Democratic Elections. 2006a. Lowering the Voting and Candidacy Ages.Google Scholar
Lebanese Association for Democratic Elections. 2006b. Mechanisms for Expatriate Voting.Google Scholar
Lebanese Transparency Association, Lebanese Center for Policy Studies Lebanese Association for Democratic Elections. 2007. The Civil Campaign for Electoral Reform.Google Scholar
Madini, T. 1999. Amal and Hizballah. Damascus: al-Ahali. Arabic.Google Scholar
Magaloni, B. 2006. Voting for Autocracy: Hegemonic Party Survival and its Demise in Mexico. New York: Cambridge University Press.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Makdisi, S.Marktanner, M.. 2009. Trapped by Consociationalism: The Case of Lebanon. Topics in Middle Eastern and North African Economies 11.Google Scholar
Makdisi, U. 2000. The Culture of Sectarianism. Berkeley: University of California Press.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Maktabi, R. 1999. The Lebanese Census of 1932 Revisited. Who are the Lebanese? British Journal of Middle Eastern Studies 26 (2):219–241.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Matthews, D.R.Prothro, J.W.. 1963. Political Factors and Negro Voter Registration in the South. American Political Science Review 57 (2):355–367.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Melson, R.Wolpe, H.. 1970. Modernization and the Politics of Communalism: A Theoretical Perspective. American Political Science Review 64 (4):1112–1130.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Monroe, K.R., Hankin, J.Van Vechten, R.B.. 2000. The Psychological Foundations of Identity Politics. Annual Review of Political Science 3:419–447.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Moukheiber, Z. 2011. ‘Sparring Lebanon and Israel Have Highest Concentration of Billionaires in the World’, Forbes.Google Scholar
Muhsin, N. 2000. Parties Up For Bids. Beirut: New Press. Arabic.Google Scholar
Norton, A.R. 1987. Amal and the Shica: Struggle for the Soul of Lebanon. Austin: University of Texas Press.Google Scholar
Ofeish, S.A. 1999. Lebanon's Second Republic: Secular Talk, Sectarian Application. Arab Studies Quarterly 21 (1):97–116.Google Scholar
Olson, M. 1971 [1965]. The Logic of Collective Action (Revised ed.). Cambridge: Harvard University Press.Google Scholar
Piattoni, S., ed. 2001. Clientelism, Interests, and Democratic Representation. New York: Cambridge University Press.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Robinson, J.A. 2006. Economic Development and Democracy. Annual Review of Political Science 9: 503–527.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Roccas, S.Brewer, M.B.. 2002. Social Identity Complexity. Personality and Social Psychology Review 6 (2):88–106.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Sadr, M. 2000. Press Interviews, Volume 1. Beirut: Imam Sadr Center for Research and Studies. Arabic.Google Scholar
Salem, P. 2005. The 2005 Elections: Lessons Learned. In The 2005 Parliamentary Elections in Lebanon During Vast Local and Regional Transformations, edited by U. Sufa, 347–358. Beirut: The Lebanese Center for Policy Studies. Arabic.Google Scholar
Salti, N.Chaaban, J.. 2010. The Role of Sectarianism in the Allocation of Public Expenditure in Postwar Lebanon. International Journal of Middle East Studies 42 (4):637–655.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Sayegh, N. 2007. I'm Not Lebanese Yet: In Praise of Confessionalism. Beirut: Riad El-Rayyes Books. Arabic.Google Scholar
Schmidt, B.C. 1982. Principle and Prejudice: The Supreme Court and Race in the Progressive Era. Part 3: Black disfranchisement from the KKK to the Grandfather Clause. Columbia Law Review 82 (5):835–905.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Scott, J.C. 1990. Domination and the Arts of Resistance. New Haven: Yale University Press.Google Scholar
Shams al-Din, M.M. 2002. Bequests. Beirut: Annahar Press. Arabic.Google Scholar
Stokes, S.C. 2007. Political Clientelism. In The Oxford Handbook of Comparative Politics, edited by C. Boix and S. Stokes, 604–627. New York: Oxford University Press.Google Scholar
Streb, M.J., Burrell, B., Frederick, B.Genovese, M.A.. 2008. Social Desirability Effects and Support for a Female American president. Public Opinion Quarterly 72 (1):76–89.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Sulayman, A. 1998. The Second Republic Between Text and Practice. Beirut: n.p. Arabic.Google Scholar
Tajfel, H. 1982. Social Identity and Intergroup Relations. New York: Cambridge University Press.Google Scholar
Van Cott, D.L. 2007. From Movements to Parties in Latin America: The Evolution of Ethnic Politics. New York: Cambridge University Press.Google Scholar
Varshney, A. 2003. Nationalism, Ethnic Conflict, and Rationality. Perspectives on Politics 1 (1):85–99.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Varshney, A. 2007. Ethnicity and Ethnic Conflict.Google Scholar
Weiss, M. 2010. In the Shadow of Sectarianism: Law, Shi'ism, and the Making of Modern Lebanon. Cambridge: Harvard University Press.Google Scholar
Wilkinson, S.I. 2005. Introduction. In Religious Politics and Communal Violence, edited by S.I. Wilkinson, 1–33. New Delhi: Oxford University Press.Google Scholar
Ya Libnan. 2008. ‘National Conference held on Lebanon Electoral Law’, 12 June.Google Scholar