power-threat hypothesis. Perhaps reflecting the lack of theoretical development,
empirical evidence is mixed as to whether whites vote more or less in response to the
presence of blacks.
More recent studies on racial context and political attitudes, however, may lend
some insight into the conflicting findings noted above (Branton and Jones 2005; Gay
2004; Oliver and Mendelberg 2000). In particular, Branton and Jones (2005) show a
conditional linkage of racial diversity and socioeconomic context with racial attitudes.
They argue that the degree of group competition resulting from high racial diversity is
conditional on socioeconomic status of local communities. Low status areas enhance the
effect of group competition on white’s attitude toward minority groups because of real or
perceived economic threat. On the other hand, high status areas weaken the effect of
group competition because of social interaction across racial and ethnic groups, which
results in less negative attitudes on race-related policies. In sum, recent research has
indicated that it may be impossible to understand the effects of the racial context on
whites’ attitudes without accounting for the relevant socioeconomic context.
We extend this logic to the case of racial context and political participation. Our
theoretical argument borrows from Blalock’s (1967) original argument regarding group
threat and the nature of the competition that it signals. We contend that the relationship
between racial diversity and political participation is conditioned by the socioeconomic
diversity, which essentially structures the nature of group competition and therefore
determines the utility associated with individuals’ calculations of the costs and benefits of
participation.
2
Convention