Culture, Ethnicity, and Diversity

Abstract

Are ethnic cleavages associated with deep differences in culture between groups? Many people think so. In poor countries, often characterized by a high level of ethnic diversity, concerns arise that groups with heterogeneous values, norms, and attitudes-the broad set of traits that we will refer to as "culture"-may be unable to agree on policies, the provision of public goods, and the broader goals of society. In rich countries, debates rage over multiculturalism and whether population movements brought about by globalization and modernity will result in cultural divisions and the breakdown of social consensus. Underlying these debates is an assumption that people agree within groups and disagree across groups, so that cultural heterogeneity and ethnic heterogeneity are two sides of the same coin. Yet there is little quantitative research on the relationship between ethnicity and culture.In this paper we conduct a systematic investigation of the links between culture and ethnicity. In doing so, we aim to answer the following questions: Is an individual's ethnolinguistic identity a predictor of his norms, values, and preferences? Are ethnolinguistic heterogeneity and cultural heterogeneity highly correlated? What is the degree of overlap between ethnicity and culture? Finally, is the relationship

Segregation and Public Spending Under Social Identification

“…1 However, as Gerdes (2011) showed for Denmark, the multiple equilibria, we show that the share of public spending relative to the total output is higher in the equilibrium in which minority individuals assimilate than in the one in which they reject assimilation. This result is consistent with the findings by Trounstine (2016) and Desmet et al (2017). Moreover, we extend the baseline framework to consider different types of policy determination regimes, and examine under which regime segregation is the most likely to emerge.…”

Does ethnic diversity decrease economic interactions? Evidence from exchange networks in rural Gambia

“…In a particularly influential study, Easterly and Levine () classify ethnic fragmentation as ‘Africa’s growth tragedy’. A voluminous literature has followed them (for example, Alesina, Michalopoulos, & Papaioannou, ; Ashraf & Galor, ; Desmet, Ortuño‐Ortín, & Wacziarg, ; and Alesina & Ferrara, for a summary), though their main results are questioned by Arcand, Guillaumont, and Jeanneney () and others. One of the arguments to support this view is that different ethnicities mistrust each other and are less likely to create links within social and economic networks: ‘lower trust between diverse ethnic groups makes it difficult to form the social networks (social capital) that promote growth by disseminating advanced technology and economically useful knowledge’ (Easterly, , p. 689).…”

Performance, Diversity and National Identity Evidence From Association Football

“…Andrew Carnegie believed over a century ago that economic globalization would eventually bring global peace if “the belief system” could be integrated (Ignatieff ). Time has proven that globalization can unite individuals around common beliefs, but it can also bring cultural divisions (Desmet, Ortuño‐Ortín, and Wacziarg ). It has led individuals from different countries, holding different nationalities, to interact and positively or negatively impact some economic or cultural outcomes.…”

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“…Lazear () has some data at the country level, and descriptive statistics for five global firms. Country level data is used in Desmet, Ortuño‐Ortín, and Wacziarg () and Alesina, Harnoss, and Rapoport ().…”