Publication

Previous research on ethnic politics suggests two contrasting effects of ethnic quotas: a “competition” effect and a “solidarity” effect. Yet, the author argues, evaluating the effects of quotas is typically challenging, because electoral institutions are not typically assigned at random. Using an unusual combination of natural and field experiments in the Indian state of Karnataka, the author in this paper investigates the causal impact of quotas for candidates from marginalized castes and tribes on voters’ political attitudes and preferences. While there is some evidence for both competition and solidarity effects, the solidarity effect here appears to be stronger.