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Description:
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This research addresses the determinants of mass participation by developing
a model of how the racial environment influences mass participation in the United
States . Prior literature on this research question presents two competing expectations .
The power -threat hypothesis predicts that a larger size of different racial groups in
local areas increases citizen participation because of more intensive interracial con -
flicts , while the relational goods hypothesis predicts that a larger size of different racial
groups decreases participation because of less frequent interaction with other in -group
members . Both hypotheses , however , are derived from rather weak theoretical expectations ,
and neither is consistently supported in empirical analyses . This research
offers a solution to this puzzle by arguing that economic and political characteristics of
local areas determine how the racial composition influences mass participation . Local
economic and political competition is expected to structure the nature of interracial
and intraracial relations and therefore influence the utility calculation associated with
political participation . I hypothesize that the power -threat effect on citizen participation
is observed only when the degree of economic or political competition is high ,
while the relational goods effect is observed only when the degree of economic or
political competition is low . Empirical analysis using Verba , Schlozman , and Brady’s
Citizen Participation Study offers supportive evidence for my hypotheses . This research
offers the first theoretically -motivated , rigorous analysis and evidence of the impact of immediate racial environment on individuals’ participation . |