Are Immigrant-Origin Candidates Penalized Due to Ingroup Favoritism or Outgroup Hostility?

ABSTRACT: An influential explanation for the persistent political underrepresentation of minorities in elected office is that minority candidates are discriminated against by voters of the dominant ethnic group. We argue, however, for the need to distinguish between two forms of discrimination: ingroup favoritism and outgroup hostility. We measure the impact of each by using an extensive data set drawn from Swiss elections, where voters can cast both positive and negative preference votes for candidates. Our results show that immigrant-origin candidates with non-Swiss names incur an electoral disadvantage because they receive more negative preference votes than candidates with typically Swiss names. But we also find that minority candidates face a second disadvantage: voters discriminate in favor of

SUBMITTER: Portmann L 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC8649818 | biostudies-literature | 2022 Jan

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature