Civic Engagement and Community Heterogeneity: An Economist's Perspective

Costa, Dora L.; Kahn, Matthew E.

doi:10.1017/s1537592703000082

Cited by 481 publications

(386 citation statements)

References 32 publications

Supporting

Mentioning

347

Contrasting

Unclassified

Order By: Relevance

“…By itself, this finding is contrary to some empirical examinations of this relationship (Alesina and Ferrara, 2000;Costa and Kahn, 2003). However, unlike other studies, we explicitly examine the effect of racial heterogeneity measured at the immediate neighborhood level of the respondent, and in addition we control for many factors that potentially explain why heterogeneous contexts might be negatively related to trust-e.g., individual socio-demographic characteristics, racial attitudes and experiences, perceptions of neighborhood disorder and neighborhood SES.…”

Section: Analysis and Findingsmentioning

confidence: 80%

“…Interestingly, empirical studies by economists on the relationship between heterogeneity and generalized trust have found a negative, rather than positive, connection (Alesina and Ferrara, 2000;Costa and Kahn, 2003). However, these studies have measured heterogeneity at the metropolitan level and might therefore inaccurately reflect the actual experiences of heterogeneity.…”

Section: Social Interaction and Familiarity: The Causal Mechanism Undmentioning

confidence: 99%

See 1 more Smart Citation

Race and the City: Neighborhood Context and the Development of Generalized Trust

Marschall

Stolle²

2004

Political Behavior

318

217

View full text Add to dashboard Cite

Previous research has indicated that socio-economic and racial characteristics of an individual's environment influence not only group consciousness and solidarity, but also affect his or her views toward minority or majority groups. Missing from this research is a consideration of how context, social interaction, and interracial experiences combine to shape more general psychological orientations such as generalized trust. In this study we address this gap in the literature by conducting a neighborhoodlevel analysis that examines how race, racial attitudes, social interactions, and residential patterns affect generalized trust. Our findings suggest not only that the neighborhood context plays an important role in shaping civic orientations, but that the diversity of interaction settings is a key condition for the development of generalized trust.

show abstract

Section: Analysis and Findingsmentioning

confidence: 80%

Section: Social Interaction and Familiarity: The Causal Mechanism Undmentioning

confidence: 99%

Race and the City: Neighborhood Context and the Development of Generalized Trust

Marschall

Stolle²

2004

Political Behavior

318

217

View full text Add to dashboard Cite

show abstract

“…Dear, 1992; as well as with studies mentioning that selectivity in civic engagement is associated with economic aspects such as income, time and neighbourhood attachment (e.g. Grillo et al, 2010;Costa & Kahn, 2004).…”

Section: Who Received Information?mentioning

confidence: 90%

“…Other studies indicate that people's civic engagement may have to do with more economic aspects such as time and money (e.g. Costa and Kahn, 2004). This indicates a potential difference in the characteristics of residential groups being more actively and more passively involved in their information reception.…”

Section: Governmental Information Provision About Highway Projectsmentioning

confidence: 99%

Residents’ responses to proposed highway projects: Exploring the role of governmental information provision

Hamersma

Heinen

Tillema³

et al. 2016

Transport Policy

View full text Add to dashboard Cite

Despite increased efforts to actively consult residents in highway infrastructure planning to i.a. increase acceptance of plans, the involvement of most residents is passive and limited to receiving information. By means of multivariate regression analysis, this paper explores the role of governmental information provision in residents' responses towards highway project proposals, measured by the expected change in residential satisfaction i.e. the match between housing needs and conditions, as a consequence of those projects. We also pay specific attention to permeability of and satisfaction with information provided. The analyses are based on questionnaire data collected among 484 residents living close to two announced plans for highway adjustment in the Netherlands.We found indications that residents who received information from a governmental project team are more satisfied with information compared to residents who only received information from other sources. In its turn, a higher level of information satisfaction was associated with more positive expectations with regard to changes in their residential satisfaction, although other contextual variables were also explanatory. Receiving information from the project team was mainly associated with a closer residential proximity to the highway where project team distribution efforts were also more intensive. However, we observed clear personal and project-specific differences in the number of information sources received and the likelihood to attend information meetings. The latter was also associated with more negative expectations towards residential satisfaction change. This indicates a clear difference in characteristics between the more actively involved group and the silent majority.An important implication of this study is that information provided by project teams seems to increase acceptance of plans, via its contribution to residents' information satisfaction. Nevertheless, only a minority of residents appeared satisfied with the information they received. Therefore, it seems worthwhile for planning agencies to pay more attention to people who currently appear less satisfied with the information provided. These include older residents, residents with fewer social contacts and families with children. In addition, the results indicate clear differences in expected satisfaction change between more actively and more passively involved residents. This may be a reason for governments to not only focus on opinions grasped from information meetings, but to specifically take into account the opinions of the more passive 'silent' majority.

show abstract

“…From politics to journalism, we are witnessing the widespread sentiment that diversity, particularly racial and ethnic diversity due to migration patterns, population movements and increasing numbers of asylum seekers, has an overwhelmingly erosive impact on national identity and is threatening our societal cohesion. The public and political rhetoric, although emotionally based and populist, often relies on a specific line of scholarship which primarily argues that communities with high levels of racial and cultural diversity have lower levels of trust and fewer formal and informal interactions (Putnam 2007;La Ferrara 2000, 2002;Costa and Kahn 2003). Thus, according to this logic, for there to be social cohesion, a certain level of homogeneity must be maintained.…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Diversity and social cohesion: the case of Jane-Finch, a highly diverse lower-income Toronto neighbourhood

Ahmadi

2017

Urban Research & Practice

View full text Add to dashboard Cite

Diversity has increasingly emerged as the core focus of many studies concerning factors impacting on social cohesion. Various scholars have concluded that diversity is detrimental to cohesion. Most of this research, however, draws generalisations based upon quantitative data and fails to account for the impact of inequality, segregation and discrimination, and their interconnectedness to diversity. This research provides an indepth qualitative analysis of the perceptions of inhabitants of a diverse Toronto neighbourhood regarding formal and informal interactions, common values and attachment. The findings suggest that the internalisation of gendered and class-based racism by inhabitants plays a crucial role in shaping perceptions and interactions.

show abstract

Civic Engagement and Community Heterogeneity: An Economist's Perspective

Cited by 481 publications

References 32 publications

Race and the City: Neighborhood Context and the Development of Generalized Trust

Race and the City: Neighborhood Context and the Development of Generalized Trust

Residents’ responses to proposed highway projects: Exploring the role of governmental information provision

Diversity and social cohesion: the case of Jane-Finch, a highly diverse lower-income Toronto neighbourhood

Contact Info

Product

Resources

About