Replication data for: Trickle-Down Ethnic Politics: Drunk and Absent in the Kenya Police Force (1957-1970)

Principal Investigator(s): View help for Principal Investigator(s) Oliver Vanden Eynde; Patrick M. Kuhn; Alexander Moradi

Version: View help for Version V1

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Project Citation:

Vanden Eynde, Oliver, Kuhn, Patrick M., and Moradi, Alexander. Replication data for: Trickle-Down Ethnic Politics: Drunk and Absent in the Kenya Police Force (1957-1970). Nashville, TN: American Economic Association [publisher], 2018. Ann Arbor, MI: Inter-university Consortium for Political and Social Research [distributor], 2019-10-13. https://doi.org/10.3886/E114697V1

Project Description

Summary: How does ethnic politics affect the state's ability to provide policing services? Using a panel of administrative personnel data on the full careers of 6,784 police officers, we show how the rise of ethnic politics around Kenya's independence influenced policemen's behavior. We find a significant deterioration in discipline after Kenya's first multiparty election for those police officers of ethnic groups associated with the ruling party. These effects are driven by a behavioral change among these policemen. We find no evidence of favoritism within the police. Instead, our results are consistent with co-ethnic officers experiencing an emboldenment effect. Our findings highlight that the state's security apparatus, at its most granular level, is not insulated from ethnic politics.

Scope of Project

Subject Terms: Observational data; difference-in-differences design

JEL Classification:
      D72 Political Processes: Rent-seeking, Lobbying, Elections, Legislatures, and Voting Behavior
      J15 Economics of Minorities, Races, Indigenous Peoples, and Immigrants; Non-labor Discrimination
      K42 Illegal Behavior and the Enforcement of Law
      O15 Economic Development: Human Resources; Human Development; Income Distribution; Migration
      O17 Formal and Informal Sectors; Shadow Economy; Institutional Arrangements

Geographic Coverage: Kenya

Time Period(s): 1/1957 – 12/1970 (1957 - 1970)

Universe: Sample if policemen in Kenya 1957-1970

Data Type(s): administrative records data; observational data

Collection Notes: These personnel files are from non-active police officers (as of 2008) and were sorted out for destruction in 2009. Awaiting appraisal by the Kenya National Archives, the files were dumped in a depot at the outskirts of Nairobi. The files did not follow any obvious order and leaks in the roof destroyed a good share of the records. The attained sampling rate is about 1:4 throughout the 1957-1970 period.

Methodology

Data Source: Administrative records or policemen in Kenya

Unit(s) of Observation: Individuals (e.g. policemen)

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Published Versions

V1 [2019-10-13]

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