Please use this identifier to cite or link to this item: https://hdl.handle.net/10419/71117 
Year of Publication: 
2013
Series/Report no.: 
DIW Discussion Papers No. 1266
Publisher: 
Deutsches Institut für Wirtschaftsforschung (DIW), Berlin
Abstract: 
Theoretical work based on social identity theory and in-group favoritism predicts that increased population diversity (e.g., due to immigration) reduces support for redistributive public policies. In this article, we add to the empirical literature testing this prediction in three ways. First, rather than ethno-linguistic or racial heterogeneity, we analyze religious diversity, which in many countries is an increasingly important source of diversity. Second, to account for the potential endogeneity of heterogeneity, we analyze an exogenous shock in diversity due to the German reunification. Finally, we assess shifts in local individuals' social identification after immigration took place, which, while untested in previous contributions, is a critical theoretical mechanism. Our results - using tax and spending decisions of 2031 Bavarian municipalities over the 1983-2005 period - indicate that Catholic municipalities in particular significantly reduced their level of taxes and spending in response to non-Catholic immigration. These effects arise only after the first post-reunification local elections, suggesting a critical mediating role of the democratic process.
Subjects: 
local identity
fiscal policy
redistribution
German reunification
diff-in-diff estimation
JEL: 
H10
H11
H77
Document Type: 
Working Paper

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