Experimenting with Identity: Islam, Nationalism and Ethnicity
Year: 2009
Type: preprint
Abstract: This paper presents the results of experiments that test the effects of religious and national identities on behavior across ethnic lines. In the study, 360 subjects in two Indonesian provinces were subtly and randomly exposed to visual cues for nationalism, Islam or a neutral control and then completed behavioral-economic tasks with monetary payoffs. I find that priming for Islam strongly raised generosity among Muslim subjects, reflecting Islamic norms of selflessness and sharing. Priming for national identity, while raising generosity, elicited ethnic \textit{differentiation} rather than the ethnic cohesion often touted in nationalist rhetoric. I argue that the results reveal different ethnic status-hierarchies embedded in the two identity frameworks: groups that are underprivileged in the national setting are strongly favored in an Islamic one.
Source: SSRN Electronic Journal
Author: Natan B. Sachs
Institution: Stanford University
Language: English
Subfield: Economics and Econometrics
Domain: Social Sciences
Open Access status: green
OpenAlex ID: W2248509260