Identity Politics and Economic Policy

Gaikwad, Nikhar.  Identity Politics and Economic Policy.  In Preparation for Submission.  Book Conference held in 2020.

How does identity politics impact political conflict over economic policy?  Political entrepreneurs in multi-ethnic societies commonly rely on both cultural mobilization and economic protectionism to garner votes, yet few theories explain how politicians' choices along one dimension influence their actions on the other.  I present a formal model of political competition in culturally divided societies to explicate the link between identity politics and politics over economic policymaking.  I show that both brands of politics are symptomatic of the same strategic tradeoff faced by office-seeking politicians.  My key insight is that incentives to engage in identity politics dampen motivations to win support using economic policy.  By triggering identity in the electoral arena, politicians can boost their popularity among voters who value identity.  But the “identity card” polarizes political preferences among groups mobilized on identity, which in turn makes voters in these communities relatively less responsive to marginal changes in economic policy.  Politicians thus face electoral motivations to fashion economic policies toward members of other identity groups.  My focus on the linkages between identity and economic mobilization generates insights that upturn many expectations about who gets what from the state in multi-cultural democracies.  Conventional wisdom holds that political entrepreneurs advance the interests of the ethnic groups they represent, and that economic coalitions that are concentrated with majority ethnic group members are more likely to obtain redistributive economic policies.  I show, by contrast, that identity politics incentivize politicians to cater to the economic interests of minorities, and that industries with larger shares of majority group workers receive fewer preferential policies because politicians are more likely to court voters in these groups by appealing to their identity.

I test the empirical implications of this theoretical argument using multiple methods and sources of data.  I begin by conducting a series of paired survey experiments on large samples of voters, politicians, and importing and exporting firms in India to interrogate the theoretical micro-foundations of my formal model.  Evidence from a number of historical case studies illustrate the key mechanisms behind my argument and the broader validity of its claims.  The centerpiece of my empirical analysis is an examination of the relationship between the ethnic distribution of workers within industries and trade policy outcomes.  I introduce an original dataset of annual, product-level import tariffs spanning 75 years and 5,000 product lines in India that I collected over several years of fieldwork, and use this data to probe my theory's predictions.  My analyses reveal a qualitatively meaningful association linking the presence of minority group workers in an industry's workforce and the ability of that industry to receive preferential trade policy.  Strikingly, this relationship is evident in specific and symmetrical ways for both import competing and exporting industries, in line with theoretical predictions about their policy preferences surrounding international trade.  Furthermore, I show that the relationship between the ethnic profiles of industries and economic policy outcomes is evident only when identity politics become salient in the electoral arena, a finding that corroborates key insights from my theoretical argument.  Finally, I probe the broader applicability of my theory by evaluating its predictions using a different policy measure in India, as well as similar trade policy outcomes in Brazil and the United States during the early twentieth century.  Taken together this book provides a new theoretical framework to explain how politicians make economic policies in electoral settings that are dominated by identity politics, and helps shed light on how the sharp rise in identity politics in recent decades has systematically influenced regulatory capture in culturally divided democracies.

This book is based on my doctoral dissertation, which was awarded the James G. March Award for “outstanding dissertation in any field of Political Science” by Yale University, the Juan Linz Prize for Best Dissertation by the American Political Science Association's Democracy and Autocracy Section, and an Honorable Mention for the Mancur Olson Prize for Best Dissertation by the American Political Science Association's Political Economy Section.

Listen to the Scope Conditions Podcast (with Alan Jacobs and Yang-Yang Zhou, Episode 1.4) on the manuscript here.

Table of Contents

1. Introduction:  Two Brands of Politics
2. The Politician's Strategic Tradeoff
3. Experimental Tests of Theoretical Mechanisms
4. Linking Identity Politics to Economic Policy
5. Evaluating Implications for Economic Policy
6. Different Policies, Different Settings
7. Conclusion:  Identity and Policy in an Era of Populism


Climate Justice Now!

Marwege, Rebecca, Nikhar Gaikwad, and Joerg Schaefer (Eds.).  Climate Justice Now! Multidisciplinary Perspectives on the Climate Crisis.  Forthcoming.  Columbia University Press, 2025.

Despite widespread recognition of the dramatic scale of the climate crisis, there remains no singular definition or universally accepted concept of climate justice.  This challenge is compounded by the limitations of traditional scholarly frameworks, which struggle to encompass the dynamic and pervasive impact of the climate crisis across global, national, and local levels.  Climate change is not only an environmental and physical phenomenon but also a catalyst for worsening socio-economic inequalities, both within and between countries.  To address these complexities, the exchange of diverse disciplinary perspectives is crucial.  The climate crisis demands ethical, social, and political considerations alongside scientific and environmental insights.  Concepts such as historical responsibility, compensation for past, present, and future losses, and “just transition” are essential for contextualizing scientific understandings of climate change and shaping equitable responses by states and societies.  Reflecting this multidisciplinary approach, this book offers a comprehensive exploration of climate justice debates across various fields.  It provides a conceptual framework that captures the diversity of these perspectives and serves as a foundation for future scholarship on the intersection of climate change and justice.  More broadly, the book clarifies what we mean when we talk about climate justice, and how research on climate change and climate justice can be developed to center those it ought to serve.

This book grew out of the Columbia Climate School's "Decarbonization, Climate Resilience, and Climate Justice" interdisciplinary network that I Co-Directed from 2021—2024 (additional information can be found here).

Table of Contents

Section A - Shifting Tides:  Uniting Disciplines for Climate Justice
"Foreword," Sheila Foster
1. “When Natural Scientists, Social Scientists, and Humanists Meet to Discuss Climate Justice,” Rebecca Marwege, Nikhar Gaikwad, Joerg Schaefer

Section B - The Intersection of Climate and Justice:  Theory, Politics, Science and Urban Perspectives
2. Political Theory, “Introduction to Theories of Environmental and Climate Justice,” Mary Witlacil
3. Political Science, “The Politics of Climate Justice,” Zara Riaz and Page Fortna
4. Urban Studies, “Transport, Justice and Climate Crisis in Cities:  A Paradigm Shift,” Jacqueline Klopp and Festival Boateng
5. Atmospheric Science, “The Potential Conflict between Climate Justice and Environmental Justice:  Reducing Greenhouse Gas Emissions does not Always Improve Air Quality,” Roisin Commane

Section C - Climate Impacts and the Question of Justice:  Exploring Sociology, Mobility and Environmental Health
6. Sociology, “Sociological Perspectives on Climate Justice,” Jennifer E. Givens and Mufti Nadimul Quamar Ahmed
7. Mobility Studies, “Climate Justice and Climate Mobility:  International Migration from Central America and West Africa,” Alex de Sherbinin, David Wrathall, Susana Adamo, Sara Pan-Algarra, and Elena Giacomelli
8. Environmental Health Studies, “Climate Justice in the Field:  Migrant Agricultural Workers,” Lewis H. Ziska, Jeffrey L. Shaman, Emily Weaver and Ami Zota

Section D - Climate Justice, Capitalism and Colonialism:  From Literature to History to Science
9. Comparative Literature, “Justice, the Incommensurable, and the Scale(s) of Business as Usual:  A Literary Studies Approach,” Jennifer Wenzel
10. History and Anthropology, “Climate Justice in the Arctic:  Multi-Species Approaches in History and Anthropology,” Emma Gilheany and Julia Lajus
11. Ocean Science, “Bridging the Gulf:  Intersections of Geology, Biology, and Environmental Justice,” Kailani Acosta and Gisela Winckler
12. Physics and Climate Science, “How Much Positive Influence on the Climate Problem Can One Have as an Academic or Industry Climate Scientist?” Adam Sobel and Melanie Bieli

Section E - Climate Justice, Expertise and Community:  Rethinking Knowledge Production at a Time of Climate Crisis
13. Anthropology, “Climate (In)justice for Whom:  Alternative Theories and the Absence of Scientific Language,” Sheng Long
14. Religion, “Climate Justice and Religion,” Courtney Bender and Raffaella Taylor-Seymour
15. Coproduction, “Building a Better Model for Flood Protection Planning,” Paul Gallay

Section F - Pursuing Climate Justice in Academia and Beyond:  Bridging Disciplines, Embracing Complexity
16. “The Elusive Challenge of Climate Justice and a Call to Action!” Rebecca Marwege, Nikhar Gaikwad and Joerg Schaefer