The roots of ethnic diversity

The level of ethnic diversity is believed to have significant consequences for economic and political development within countries. In this article, we provide a theoretical and empirical analysis of the determinants of ethnolinguistic diversity in the world. We introduce a model of cultural and genetic drift where new groups endogenously emerge among peripheral populations in response to an insufficient supply of collective goods. In line with our model, we find that the duration of human settlements since prehistoric times has a strong positive association with current levels of ethnolinguistic diversity. Diversity is further negatively correlated with the length of modern state experience and with distance from the equator. Our results are thus consistent with both ??evolutionary?? and ??constructivist?? hypotheses of ethnolinguistic fractionalization.     

The impact of ethnic diversity on microenterprise start-ups

Until recently, factors determining the decisions made by microfinance institutions (MFIs) to extend loans to business start-ups had not been explored. Recent evidence shows that MFI performance with regard to funds issued for small business start-ups depends on MFI-level characteristics such as profit orientation. We argue that these decisions do not only depend on MFI-specific practices or characteristics, but also on the role ethnic diversity plays. Using data on microfinance lending activities for business start-ups, we examine the impact of ethnic diversity on microenterprise start-ups. Results show that ethnic diversity negatively affects the provision of financial capital for business start-up. Furthermore, results also suggest a negative association between ethnic diversity and the share of female borrowers recorded by MFIs. We examine social networks and outreach as potential channels through which ethnic diversity affects business start-ups.     

State history,historical legitimacy and modern ethnic diversity

How much does the antiquity of states, and the sometimes arbitrary nature of colonial boundaries, explain the modern degree of theory of ethnic diversity and income disthnic diversity? It is shown that states with greater historical legitimacy (more continuity between the pre-colonial and post-colonial state) have less ethnic diversity. Historical legitimacy is more strongly correlated with ethnic diversity than are the antiquity of states, genetic diversity or the duration of human settlement. Although historical legitimacy is particularly pertinent to Africa, the correlation also holds outside Africa.     

Immigration,ethnic diversity and voting: The role of individual income

We exploit a unique panel dataset merging data on individual socio-economic characteristics and individual turnout in an Italian municipality to investigate the relationship between ethnic diversity in residential neighborhoods and propensity to vote. Using these data, we document for the first time a differential effect of diversity on electoral turnout depending on household equivalent income. Specifically, we show that ethnic diversity in the neighborhood reduces the political participation of the poor, while it fosters that of the more affluent. These results highlight a potential democratic deficit stemming from reduced and unequal electoral turnout in increasingly heterogeneous neighborhoods.     

A theory of ethnic diversity and income distribution: A legislative bargaining approach

In this paper, I examine how the two dimensions of income inequality and ethnic diversity affect the formation of political coalitions and the reallocation of income. I construct a legislative bargaining model to analyze when coalitions form along the income dimension and when it forms along the ethnic dimension. The results of the model suggest that the agenda setter selects a partner with a lower aggregate income: a smaller population size and a lower income level. Further, I extend the model from a one-round to a two-round game. The extended model shows that forming an oversized coalition is a possible equilibrium outcome and is consistent with the empirical findings.     

Microfinance in Latin America and the Caribbean: the curse and blessing of ethnic diversity

ABSTRACT

Latin America is one of the most ethnically diverse regions in the world, and is also characterized by high levels of poverty. As a poverty alleviation tool, microfinance emerged in the region and has significantly evolved over the years. However, the implications of the region’s high diversity on the performance of microfinance institutions (MFIs) are however not known. We attempt to fill this gap by providing evidence on the association between MFI performance and indices of ethnic and linguistic fractionalization. Our findings suggest that fractionalization promotes MFI financial performance but is detrimental to outreach depth. These results are robust to various sensitivity tests.     

The effect of ethnic diversity on the participation in social groups: Evidence from trade unions

This paper advances the hypothesis that individuals in more ethnically fragmented societies, participate less in social groups. More precisely, the empirical analysis places the spotlight on trade unions and investigates whether ethnic diversity affects the decision of workers to participate in them. The analysis takes place along two layers: (a) country-level and (b) individual-level. First, building on a set of innovative instruments derived from the parasite-stress theory of values and sociality, our country-level analysis seeks to exploit exogenous sources of variation in ethnic diversity and establish a convincing causal relationship between ethnic diversity and trade union density across countries. In turn, we employ individual-level data from the European Social Survey (ESS) and investigate whether immigrants who cοme from more ethnically fragmented societies participate less in trade unions in their European countries of residence. Consistent with the prediction of the theory, both layers of the empirical analysis provide robust evidence of a negative, sizeable and highly significant effect of ethnic diversity on the participation in trade unions.     

Oil and ethnic inequality in Nigeria

Although it is known that ethnic biases exist in Africa, less is known about how these respond to natural resource prices. Many ethnically fragmented African countries depend on a small number commodities for their export base. Oil prices experienced in early life predict differential adult outcomes across Nigerian ethnic groups. Our difference-in-difference approach compares members of southern ethnicities to other Nigerians from the same birth cohort. This North-South distinction mirrors several economic, political, and religious cleavages in the country. Greater prices in a southern individual’s birth year predict several relative outcomes, including reduced fertility, delayed marriage, higher probabilities of working and having a skilled occupation, greater schooling, lower height, and greater BMI. These microeconomic impacts are explained by macroeconomic responses to oil prices; relatively, urban incomes increase, food production declines, and maternal labor intensifies in the South.     

生态环境多样性造就文化多样性

我国生态环境是多样性的.正是由于地势西高东低,高差悬殊,地貌结构复杂,山川纵横,山谷众多,所以才构成了我国千姿百态的地貌类型.正是由于气候多样,南北变化很大,所以才构成了我国气候的多样性.我国的大部分领土处于北温带,正是黑格尔所说的"历史的真正的舞台".类型多样的地貌和多样化的气候资源,为种类繁多的生物生成和繁衍提供了极为优越的环境条件,而生态环境和生物的多样性又造就了富有特色的文化多样性.     

Disparities in income elasticities by ethnic origin

This paper uses expenditure survey data to analyse disparities in income elasticities of demand by ethnic origin. Engel curve estimates indicate that the food elasticity varies with ethnic origin, while the others are quite similar. With data on five food commodities, the income elasticities display considerable disparities.     

Explaining fiscal decentralization and the role of ethnic Diversity

This paper considers the causes of fiscal decentralization with a specific focus on the role of ethnic diversity. To do so, I employ an instrument for ethnic diversity based on the origin of anatomically modern human life. Using two measures of decentralization that capture decision making autonomy and accounting for the depth of divisions between ethno-linguistic groups using the structure of language trees, I find that ethnic diversity has a positive effect on the degree of decentralization. It is the amount of fractionalization towards the leaves of the trees, where groups are more numerous and less distinct, that drive decentralization.     

Pre-colonial ethnic institutions and party politics in Africa

We examine the role of ethnic institutions on party politics in African democracies. We combine geo-referenced data from 15 countries, 32 parliamentary elections and around 2700 electoral constituencies. First, we document a strong negative association between the degree of pre-colonial ethnic institutional centralization and the local level of competition between political parties in democratic elections today. Second, to address concerns about unobservable differences in geography or history, we show that results hold true when leveraging for identification the redrawing of constituency boundaries over time. Pre-colonial ethnic institutions shape local electoral outcomes and matter for the present and future of African democracies.     

Persistence of gender inequality: the role of ethnic divisions

Gender inequality remains a fundamental challenge for global policymakers given that it has detrimental implications for growth and human capital formation. However, studies examining the roots of gender inequality, and what determines the level of inequality are relatively scant. In this study, we seek to contribute to the literature that examines the roots of gender inequality and thus, our objective is to examine the impact of ethnic diversity on gender inequality. We argue that the level of ethnic diversity within a country plays a role in either deepening or bridging gender gaps. Using indices of ethnic fractionalization, we examine the effects of ethnic diversity on measures of gender inequality such as the gender inequality index, and its associated dimensions of empowerment, educational attainment and labour market outcomes. Our evidence suggests that ethnic diversity widens existing gender gaps. We discuss several mechanisms through which ethnic diversity may lead to the increase of existing gender gaps, and lay out various policy approaches to address gender inequality.     

Economic and ethnic factors in Kenyan migration movements

The impact of economic and ethnic factors on migration in Kenya is examined using data from the 1979 census and the Kenya Fertility Survey of 1977-1978 and ordinary least squares multiple regression analysis. The results indicate that fertility and child mortality are positively related to migration. Most migrations are of short distance, and ethnic linkage effects vary by tribal group. Other factors considered include income, land supply, and education.     

Poverty,inequality and ethnic minorities in Vietnam

The present study examines how and why ethnic minorities are poorer than ethnic majorities in Vietnam using the Vietnam Household Living Standards Survey data for 2002 and 2004. First, the analysis confirms that households belonging to the ethnic minority groups are not only poorer but also more vulnerable to various shocks than those in the ethnic majority groups, namely the Kinh and the Chinese. Second, household composition (e.g., dependency burden), education, land holding and location are important determinants of expenditure and poverty, whilst there is some diversity among different ethnic groups. Finally, the decomposition analyses reveal that the ethnic minorities are poorer not necessarily because they have more disadvantaged household characteristics (e.g., educational attainment or location), but, more importantly, because the returns to the characteristics are much lower for ethnic minorities than for the majorities. Government policies to reduce structural differences between ethnic majorities and minorities are imperative to address the disparities in returns to endowments between them.     

Influence mechanism of tourists' environmentally responsible behavior in ethnic villages

With the economic development and multicultural exchange of ethnic villages,more and more ethnic villages have embarked on the road of tourism to become rich,but also brought the problem of ecological pollution.Few existing literatures discuss how to alleviate the ecological pollution in ethnic villages from the perspective of tourists’ environmentally responsible behavior.In the context of ethnic villages,from the perspective of integration and the attitude-context-behavior theory,this paper co...     

Integration and diversity

Experimental Economics - We study a setting where individuals prefer to coordinate with others but they differ on their preferred action. Our interest is in understanding the role of link formation...     

Modelling phylogenetic diversity

The paper proposes a model for measuring and valuing biodiversity based on evolutionary information, called the phylogenetic tree model. While avoiding the strong restrictions of Weitzman’s [Quart. J. Econ. 107 (1992) 363] “cladistic” approach, the phylogenetic tree model retains much of the mathematical simplicity of the cladistic model. In particular, in the phylogenetic tree model the diversity of any set of species can be recursively determined from the pairwise dissimilarities between them. The restrictions imposed by the phylogenetic tree model on the underlying dissimilarity metric are characterized and shown to be weaker than those entailed by the cladistic model. An especially parsimonous version of the phylogenetic tree model is obtained by invoking an appropriate notion of translation invariance.