Changing preferences: identity and ideology in the long run (B08)

• Subject Area: Economic and Social History
• Term: since 2017
• Project identifier: Deutsche Forschungsgemeinschaft (DFG) - Project number 280092119

In recent years, the political discourse has moved away from cleavages based on class and mass party membership, to tribes based on constructs of identity (ethnic, sexual, or religious identity; “Remainers” vs. “Leavers”; etc.). “Identity politics” is the fitting keyword for this development. The goal of this project B08 is to provide a historical, empirical foundation to the study of “identity politics”. We aim to understand the emergence of modern identities from a historical and political economy perspective. We conceptualize identities as non-standard preferences, which are interdependent, can change due to the intervention by rational political actors, and matter for individual decision-making.

• DFG Programme: CRC/Transregios
• Subproject of: TRR 190: Rationality and Competition: The Economic Performance of Individuals and Firms
• Applicant Institution: Humboldt-Universität zu Berlin
• Project Heads: Professor Davide Cantoni, Ph.D.; Professor Dr. Nikolaus Wolf