The Political Boundaries of Ethnic Divisions

Abstract

This paper argues that redrawing subnational political boundaries can transform ethnic divisions. We use a natural policy experiment in Indonesia to show how the effects of ethnic diversity on conflict depend on the political units within which groups are organized. Redistricting along group lines can reduce conflict, but these gains are undone or even reversed when the new borders introduce greater polarization. These adverse effects of polarization are further amplified around majoritarian elections, consistent with strong incentives to capture new local governments in settings with ethnic favoritism. Overall, our findings illustrate the promise and pitfalls of redistricting in diverse countries.

Subnational Border Reforms and Economic Development in Africa

“…This result is similar to what has been found for splits of administrative units in Indonesia(Bazzi and Gudgeon, 2016;Bazzi et al, 2018).9 Some papers address the consequences of administrative splits on politics or conflict activity. For instance,Bazzi and Gudgeon (2016) show that splits can reduce the incidence of conflicts in Indonesia.…”

“…For instance,Bazzi and Gudgeon (2016) show that splits can reduce the incidence of conflicts in Indonesia. According toBazzi et al (2018) this effect only holds for administrative splits which increase the ethnic diversity of the local population. Moreover,Gottlieb et al (2016) find evidence that administrative splits in Senegal are done for re-election purposes.…”

Income Shocks and Suicides: Causal Evidence From Indonesia

“…12 Decentralization reforms beginning from 1998 significantly increased the proliferation of administrative units. For example, the number of districts increased from 302 in 1999 to more than 500 in 2014 (Bazzi and Gudgeon, 2018). The number of subdistricts increased from about 3000 in the late 1990s to subdistricts according to 2000 boundary definitions.…”

Good Mine, Bad Mine: Natural Resource Heterogeneity and Dutch Disease in Indonesia

“…Because districts in Indonesia proliferate over time we aggregate to the 1990 district borders. For the period 1990-1993 we rely on Bazzi and Gudgeon (2018) and for other years on Indonesia's national statistical agency Badan Pusat Statistik (BPS).…”

“…With the chosen latitude and longitude data at hand, we first identify the home district of the deposit as of 2016, using Google Maps. In a second step, we assign the district to its 1990-district, if the two differ, using district proliferation tables provided by Indonesia's national statistical agency, Badan Pusat Statistik (BPS), and information provided by Bazzi and Gudgeon (2018).…”