Inequality, ethnicity, and status in a ranked society: Intermarriage in Mindanao, the Philippines

Abstract

A tension exists between the normative aspiration for greater equality between ethnic and religious groups in society and the empirical reality that ascendant groups benefit from the unequal social order. I explore how this tension manifests in the social sphere by examining how ethnic inequality shapes the formation of interethnic ties in an ethnically-ranked society. I examine intermarriages in Mindanao, a deeply-divided and ethnically-ranked society in the Global South. I find ethnic inequality is associated with both integrative and distancing forces. When ethnic inequality is low, individuals from high-ranked groups tend to inmarry, but low-ranked groups to outmarry. I suggest this divergence reflects the importance of status hierarchies. Intermarriages represent status mobility for subordinate groups but status threat for dominant groups. Ingroup preference intensifies for highranked groups because they are anxious to preserve the distinctiveness of group boundaries and their status superiority. I establish these findings using census micro-data on over two million marriages.

Kazakhstan Model of Interethnic Relations: Cultural Aspect

“…Over its centuries-old history, the modern lands of Kazakhstan are full of examples of interethnic interactions at various levels of social, cultural, and ethnic aspects. The lands of Kazakhstan in different periods of their history were part of different multi-ethnic states, which represented various models of synthesis and symbiosis, which included various ethnic groups, religions, and cultures (McDoom, 2019).…”

“…Its role lies in providing every ethnic group or people with the opportunity to profess their faith, follow their customs, learn their language, but culturally feel and be proud that they are a citizen of Kazakhstan. In such an environment, a multicultural atmosphere is formed (Fuhse, 2020), where every citizen feels respect and tolerance for any representative of other nationalities, seeing in them not their national or religious enemy, but a Kazakhstani citizen, such as themselves (McDoom, 2019).…”

Intergroup contact and its effects on discriminatory attitudes Evidence from India

“…In particular, in the state of Maharashtra, which is where the city of Pune is located, only 3.7 per cent of all married women in the state have married outside their caste (Goli et al 2013). This shows that the norms of the caste system are remain rigid, despite evidence showing that out-marriage usually allows for integration (McDoom 2019). Intermarriage between social groups is crucial to the formation of wider networks and helpful in fostering greater intergroup contact (Qian and Lichter 2007).…”

Social Mobility and Horizontal Inequality

“…Residential patterns and ethnic social networks may be closely related, but are also distinct; ethnic social networks unrelated to residence may have influence beyond that of residence patterns. For instance, analysis of cross-ethnic relations in the Philippines shows that residential segregation is only one of multiple factors in intermarriage (McDoom, 2019). In addition, ethnic social networks (regardless of their links with residence patterns), also may be based on deeper or stronger ties than non-ethnic networks, and may play a stronger role in enforcing social norms (see Fearon and Laitin 1996).…”