COUNT US IN: THE SURPRISING BENEFITS OF ETHNIC ENUMERATION

While census-taking is recognized as inherently political, there are conflicting theoretical and empirical expectations about the impact of headcounts on the treatment of ethnic groups: on the one hand, the state may use census results to target vulnerable groups with discrimination and violence; at the same time, individuals may feel affirmed and protected when they are counted, boosting their attachment to the state and supporting more equitable treatment. Existing empirical work on the political consequences of ethnic enumeration has either focused on one or two cases or bluntly examined whether or not ethnicity was asked in the census at all.

In contrast, Count Us In constructs a worldwide, historical dataset of census practices at the group-level, tracing which among 10,000+ ethnic groups are enumerated across nearly 250 countries between 1900-2020. Using this dataset, Professor Livny compares the political consequences of being newly counted and those of being counted and then removed. In contrast to some historical examples, she finds that there is more danger in the latter case—of being un-counted—which results in more political discrimination and state-sponsored violence. Meanwhile, preliminary evidence indicates that being named on an official census questionnaire and/or report also has significant symbolic meaning: members of newly listed groups perceive less ethnic discrimination and may experience an uptick in their sense of national pride. Professor Livny’s book manuscript combines these statistical models with detailed case studies from around the world, illustrating the many facets of ethnic enumeration politics.