Click here to see the slides for the presentation at ICL, Yale Conference on Immigration in Frontline States, INAS ’24 Annual Conference, CEPDISC ’22 Conference on Discrimination, EUI, or the Observatoire Sociologique du Changement at Sciences Po.

Abstract: Prior research links far-right party victories to increased racism and hate crimes, raising concerns about their potential impact on public service access for minorities. This study investigates whether such victories influence public administrators, expected to be impartial, to discriminate against minorities accessing a general medical practitioner (GMP). Using a novel Differences-in-Regression-Discontinuities (Diff-in-RD) approach, we conducted a field experiment in Italy. Individuals with native-Italian and West-African accents contacted municipalities near the electoral threshold for far-right mayors, requesting a GMP. Compared to native-Italian callers, individuals with West-African accents faced significantly closer scrutiny and higher denial rates. The disparity in denials was amplified at the electoral threshold for far-right victories, suggesting increased public service discrimination under such leadership. These findings highlight the potential consequences of far-right electoral success for social equity and access to essential services.

Far-right Electoral Success and Discrimination in Access to Basic Healthcare: A Diff-in-RD Design Note: These are preliminary findings!