Please use this identifier to cite or link to this item: https://hdl.handle.net/10419/316731 
Year of Publication: 
2025
Series/Report no.: 
IZA Discussion Papers No. 17776
Publisher: 
Institute of Labor Economics (IZA), Bonn
Abstract: 
We exploit a population resettlement program of ethnic minorities in Malaysia to identify long-run effects of interethnic proximity on economic and political development. From 1948 to 1951, the colonial government moved 500,000 rural Chinese into hundreds of isolated, mono-ethnic camps. In ethnic majority Malay communities adjacent to these camps, we find greater economic prosperity and lower vote shares for the ethno-nationalist Malay party. Effects are stronger in areas with historical, interethnic economic complementarities. Primary survey data suggests that trust-building and social integration were key channels. Our findings highlight the importance of persistent, localized contact in the co-evolution of economic and political development.
Subjects: 
Malaysia
development
political preference
ethnicity
Chinese
JEL: 
D72
O15
R23
J15
Document Type: 
Working Paper

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