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  5. Racial and Ethnic Representation in Local Government

Racial and Ethnic Representation in Local Government

  • Brian Beach
  • Daniel B. Jones
  • Tate Twinam
  • Randall Walsh
American Economic Journal: Economic Policy (Forthcoming)

Abstract

Does the presence of underrepresented racial/ethnic groups in a legislative body differentially impact outcomes for members of those groups? We shed light on this question by studying close elections between white and nonwhite candidates for California city council and the corresponding impact on housing values, a summary statistic for neighborhood investment. We find that electing nonwhite rather than white candidates generate differential home value gains in majority nonwhite neighborhoods. This result, which is not explained by correlations between candidate race and political affiliation or neighborhood racial composition and income, suggests that increased representation can reduce racial disparities. Our results strengthen with increased city-level segregation and councilmember pivotality.

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