Exposure and Preferences

Evidence from Indian Slums

Bibliographic Data

ID6232021
AuthorsJeremy Spater (0000-0002-6649-8281, Princeton University, corresponding author)
Year2022
Volume66
Issue2
Pages302-317
Publication date2022-04-01
Peer ReviewedYes
Open AccessYes
TypeARTICLE
VenueAmerican Journal of Political Science (JOURNAL)
Journal identifiersISSN: 0092-5853 • E-ISSN: 1540-5907
PublisherWiley (PUBLISHER • GB)
DOI10.1111/ajps.12570
OpenAlexW3105997163
LanguageEN
Citations received7
References cited48

How is physical proximity to ethnic outgroups related to intergroup hostility and coethnic voting? These relationships remain murky despite extensive study, in part because existing measures of heterogeneity are too geographically coarse and provide little insight into interpersonal contact. I introduce a measure of outgroup exposure, the k‐nearest‐neighbors score, which sidesteps fundamental measurement issues by disaggregating to the level of the individual. Using original geocoded network data from eight neighborhoods, I confirm that this metric reflects social contact at the individual level. I then apply this exposure metric to an original, large‐n survey experiment from surveys in 149 neighborhoods in cities across India to test whether individual residential exposure is associated with outgroup hostility and coethnic voting. I find that proximity to an ethnic outgroup is associated with a preference for coethnic candidates, but is not associated with greater hostility toward members of the outgroup

Economics · Ethnic group · Geography · Hostility · Ingroups and outgroups · Interpersonal communication · Interpersonal relationship · Metric (unit · Outgroup · Political science · Politics · Preference · Prejudice (legal term · Statistics · Voting · Electoral Systems and Political Participation · Mathematics · Psychology · Social and Intergroup Psychology · Social Psychology · Urban, Neighborhood, and Segregation Studies

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