2025/10/07 by Wang, Bing
#FOS: Political science #Political Science #Public Affairs #Public Policy and Public Administration #Social and Behavioral Sciences
paper · doi:10.17605/osf.io/gyhv8
Diversity, equity, and inclusion (DEI) have long been upheld as cherished public values; yet DEI itself is increasingly criticized as a delusion. This skepticism stems from their inherently nebulous nature, a conceptual vagueness that obscures their impact on government capacity and national performance. Employing the partial least squares structural equation model, this study collects fifty-one authoritative indicators to operationalize these constructs. The findings reveal that DEI has strong effects on key outcomes that differ significantly when examined as a unified construct compared to when its dimensions are investigated in isolation. Diversity alone demonstrates substantial negative effects on government capacity, innovation, and national performance. However, when combined with equity and inclusion as DEI, these adverse effects are reversed. The study further highlights that diversity should be conceptualized as macro-level at national scale versus micro-level at workplace, and suggests that constructive diversity ought to be grounded in shared culture and beliefs.