Ethnicity, Governance and the Provision of Public Goods

Kimenyi, Mwangi S.

doi:10.1093/jae/ejk006

Cited by 117 publications

(77 citation statements)

References 42 publications

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“…Williamson provides an illustrative example from her fieldwork on Somali migration to Lewiston, Maine (USA): 'Informants spoke of fights among neighbors about different tolerance of noise and contrasting sexual mores in which disagreements quickly become attributed to race' (Williamson, 2015: 74). According to collective choice theories, the potential for such disagreement erodes trust (Kimenyi, 2006;Page, 2008). If so-called asymmetrically distributed preferences lie at the heart of negative diversity effects, the most harmful ethnic composition is a truly diverse one, because the more divergent interests there are the more complicated and unlikely compromises on shared goals become.…”

Section: Theoretical Backgroundmentioning

confidence: 99%

Relational diversity and neighbourhood cohesion. Unpacking variety, balance and in-group size

Koopmans

Schaeffer

2015

Social Science Research

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Ethnic diversity is typically measured by the well-known Hirschman-Herfindahl Index. This paper discusses the merits of an alternative approach, which is in our view better suited to tease out why and how ethnic diversity matters. The approach consists of two elements. First, all existing diversity indices are nonrelational. From the viewpoint of theoretical accounts that attribute negative diversity effects to in-group favoritism and out-group threat, it should however matter whether, given a certain level of overall diversity, an individual belongs to a minority group or to the dominant majority. We therefore decompose diversity by distinguishing the in-group share from the diversity of ethnic out-groups. Second, we show how generalized entropy measures can be used to test which of diversity's two basic dimensions matters most: the variety of groups, or the unequal distribution (balance) of the population over groups. These measures allow us to test different theoretical explanations against each other, because they imply different expectations regarding the effects of in-group size, out-group variety, and balance. We apply these ideas in an analysis of various social cohesion measures across 55 German localities and show that both in-group size and out-group diversity matter. For the native majority as well as for persons of immigration background, the variety component of diversity seems to be more decisive than has formerly been acknowledged. These findings provide little support for group threat and in-group favoritism as the decisive mechanisms behind negative diversity effects, and are most in line with the predictions of theories that emphasize coordination problems, asymmetric preferences, and network closure.

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Section: Theoretical Backgroundmentioning

confidence: 99%

Relational diversity and neighbourhood cohesion. Unpacking variety, balance and in-group size

Koopmans

Schaeffer

2015

Social Science Research

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“…Miguel and Gugerty (2005) show that ethnic diversity in rural western Kenya is associated with lower primary school funding and poorer school facilities. Kimenyi (2006) provides evidence of a relationship between ethnic heterogeneity and under-provision of non-excludable public goods. Easterly, Ritzen, and Woolcock (2006) argue that social cohesion can determine the strength of the institutions and emphasise that social cohesion is essential for generating the confidence and patience needed to implement reforms.…”

Section: Regression Analysis: Institutions Ethnic Diversity and Horimentioning

confidence: 99%

Horizontal inequality and ethnic diversity in Brazil: patterns, trends, and their impacts on institutions

Leivas

Santos

2018

Oxford Development Studies

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In this paper, we analyse the patterns and trends of horizontal inequality and ethnic diversity in Brazil in the past 30 years and their effect on the quality of the country's institutions. Using data from the last four demographic censuses (1980, 1991, 2000, and 2010), we estimate numerous measures to analyse inequalities between different 'ethnic' groups. Our results show that, in Brazil between 1980 and 2010, the trend toward greater equality shown in other analyses of vertical inequality, is also found in terms of horizontal inequalities along racial, gender, and regional lines. Nevertheless, horizontal inequalities in terms of race and gender, in particular, remain pronounced. Ethnic diversity regarding race and religion has increased since 1980. Through our regression analysis, we note that both horizontal inequality and ethnic diversity negatively affect the institutional quality of Brazilian municipalities.

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“…Kimenyi (2006) adds that heterogeneity facilitates corruption in the form of nepotism and patronage through preferential treatment of co-ethnics. Looking at 11 African countries, he shows that politically dominant ethnic groups preferentially receive public goods such as schooling, immunization, roads, and health facilities, though he does take political dominance as a given.…”

Section: Ethnicity and Developmentmentioning

confidence: 99%

The Causal History of Africa: A Response to Hopkins

Fenske

2010

Economic History of Developing Regions

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Ethnicity, Governance and the Provision of Public Goods

Cited by 117 publications

References 42 publications

Relational diversity and neighbourhood cohesion. Unpacking variety, balance and in-group size

Relational diversity and neighbourhood cohesion. Unpacking variety, balance and in-group size

Horizontal inequality and ethnic diversity in Brazil: patterns, trends, and their impacts on institutions

The Causal History of Africa: A Response to Hopkins

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