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Content archived on 2024-06-18

International Integration and Social Identity: Theory and Evidence

Objective

Understanding economic and political integration has long been a central concern for economists. An important missing ingredient in the existing literature is the analysis of endogenously determined social identity. By “social identity” I refer to the fact that individuals often care deeply about the groups to which they belong. By “endogenously determined” I refer to the fact that individuals do not automatically identify with every group they belong to: whether or not an individual identifies with a given group depends on the characteristics of this group as well as on how close to this group the individual perceives herself. Empirical results obtained over the past decade allow us to integrate identity concerns into standard economic models. I propose to develop and test a theory of integration that does just that.

Consider two states that may either be independent countries or form a union. The stability and desirability of unification may sometimes depend on the extent to which citizens identify with the union or with their states. But the profile of identities itself depends on the political-economic outcome under unification. The first step in developing the theory is to translate the evidence concerning behavior in groups into a concise statement of what it means to “identify” with a particular group and what factors shape identification decisions. The theory will then study the equilibrium outcomes of a political economy model of integration, where actions and identities are endogenously determined.

The second part of the project will empirically examine the relation between social identities, individual characteristics, and European integration. To appropriately measure identification, I propose to employ experimental methods based on revealed preference conducted with a large and diverse sample of European citizens. This will be complemented by historical multi-country survey data on self-reported identity, political attitudes and behavior.

Fields of science (EuroSciVoc)

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Topic(s)

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Call for proposal

Procedure for inviting applicants to submit project proposals, with the aim of receiving EU funding.

ERC-2013-StG
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Funding Scheme

Funding scheme (or “Type of Action”) inside a programme with common features. It specifies: the scope of what is funded; the reimbursement rate; specific evaluation criteria to qualify for funding; and the use of simplified forms of costs like lump sums.

ERC-SG - ERC Starting Grant

Host institution

THE HEBREW UNIVERSITY OF JERUSALEM
EU contribution
€ 1 050 000,00
Address
EDMOND J SAFRA CAMPUS GIVAT RAM
91904 JERUSALEM
Israel

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Activity type
Higher or Secondary Education Establishments
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Total cost

The total costs incurred by this organisation to participate in the project, including direct and indirect costs. This amount is a subset of the overall project budget.

No data

Beneficiaries (1)

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