Are immigrant-origin candidates penalized due to ingroup favoritism or outgroup hostility?
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Authors
Author (Corporation)
Publication date
2022
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Type
01A - Journal article
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Parent work
Comparative Political Studies
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DOI of the original publication
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Volume
55
Issue / Number
1
Pages / Duration
154-186
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SAGE
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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 majority candidates by allocating them more positive preference votes. These two forms of electoral discrimination are critically related to a candidate’s party, whereas the impact of the specific outgroup to which a minority candidate belongs is less pronounced than expected.
Keywords
electoral behavior, electoral system design, discrimination, immigrant-origin minorities, ingroup favoritism
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ISBN
ISSN
1552-3829
0010-4140
0010-4140
Language
English
Created during FHNW affiliation
No
Strategic action fields FHNW
Publication status
Published
Review
Peer review of the complete publication
Open access category
Hybrid
License
Citation
Portmann, L., & Stojanović, N. (2022). Are immigrant-origin candidates penalized due to ingroup favoritism or outgroup hostility? Comparative Political Studies, 55(1), 154–186. https://doi.org/10.1177/00104140211024293