Please use this identifier to cite or link to this item: https://hdl.handle.net/10419/173048 
Year of Publication: 
2017
Series/Report no.: 
CESifo Working Paper No. 6772
Publisher: 
Center for Economic Studies and ifo Institute (CESifo), Munich
Abstract: 
We exploit a unique dataset merging data on individual socio-economic characteristics and political participation in an Italian municipality to investigate the relationship between ethnic diversity in residential neighborhoods and individuals’ propensity to vote. We document a sizable negative impact of diversity on overall electoral turnout which reflects differential effects at the individual level, depending on household equivalent income. Specifically, we show that ethnic heterogeneity in the neighborhood reduces the political participation of the poor, while it fosters that of the more affluent. These results highlight a potential democratic deficit stemming from reduced and unequal electoral turnout in increasingly ethnically heterogeneous neighborhoods.
Subjects: 
ethnic heterogeneity
electoral turnout
income
JEL: 
D72
Document Type: 
Working Paper
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