Abstract
In this study we conduct a lab-in-the-field experiment with low-income Hispanics in three neighborhoods in a large city in the U.S. to investigate how identity and social exclusion influences individual contributions to fund local public goods. We find that while the strength of identity has a significant and positive impact on individual contributions to local public goods, the perception of social exclusion significantly decreases contributions. Our findings thus suggest factors that may impede full civic participation, and shed important light on potential policies to increase integration of immigrants and ethnic minorities into mainstream society.
Original language | English (US) |
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Pages (from-to) | 460-480 |
Number of pages | 21 |
Journal | Experimental Economics |
Volume | 20 |
Issue number | 2 |
DOIs | |
State | Published - Jun 1 2017 |
Externally published | Yes |
Bibliographical note
Funding Information:We thank Angela de Oliveira and Catherine Eckel for their input in the design and implementation of this study. We also thank seminar/conference participants at the 2011 North-American Economic Science Association Conference (Tucson), UT Dallas, the 2013 Celebrating 25 Years of Warm Glow Conference at UCSD, and the CUNY Queens College Seminar Series. Field research assistance was provided by Wayra Rodriguez. Funding was provided by the National Science Foundation (SES-0752855). Any errors remain our own.
Publisher Copyright:
© 2016, Economic Science Association.
Keywords
- Identity
- Immigration
- Public goods
- Social exclusion