I review evidence that individuals associate themselves—or identify—with groups in two
fundamental ways: ingroup bias and conformity to group norms. The evidence spans many …

We complement the literature on distributive politics by taking a systematic look at regional
favoritism in a large and diverse sample of countries and by employing a broad measure …

Why do some countries fall apart, often along their ethnic fault lines, while others have held
together over decades and centuries, despite governing an equally diverse population …

Because primary education is often conceptualized as a pro-poor redistributive policy, a
common argument is that democratization increases its provision. But primary education can …

Ethnic favoritism is seen as antithetical to development. This paper provides credible
quantification of the extent of ethnic favoritism using data on road building in Kenyan districts …

The strong support that African presidents retain among voters of their own ethnicity, despite
clear evidence of shirking and corruption, has prompted numerous empirical investigations …

Papers in the burgeoning empirical literature on distributive politics often focus their analysis
on the pattern of distribution of a single patronage good—for example, cash transfers, roads …

We study ethnic favoritism in a global sample and rely on nighttime light intensity to capture
a broad range of preferential policies targeted towards the political leaders' ethnic …

Politically-driven corruption is a pervasive challenge for development, but evidence of its
welfare effects are scarce. Using data from a major rural road construction programme in …

Much of the literature on electoral politics in Africa has focused on one mechanism of
electoral mobilization: reliance on shared ethnic identity between politicians and voters. On …