Ethnic Diversity and Economic Performance

2005/08/01 by Alberto Alesina, Eliana La Ferrara · 20 citations
Social Sciences · Economics, Econometrics and Finance · Computer Science · #Culture, Economy, and Development Studies #Economic Policies and Impacts #Economic Growth and Development

paper · doi:10.1257/002205105774431243

openalex publication_date 2005/08/01 · openalex created_date 2025/10/10 · openalex updated_date 2026/08/02

Abstract

We survey and assess the literature on the positive and negative effects of ethnic diversity on economic policies and outcomes. Our focus is on communities of different size and organizational structure, such as countries, cities in developed countries, and villages and groups in developing countries. We also consider the endogenous formation of political jurisdictions and highlight several open issues in need of further research, in particular the endogenous formation of ethnic identity and the measurement of ethnic diversity.

Citations

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• The Political Salience of Cultural Difference: Why Chewas and Tumbukas Are Allies in Zambia and Adversaries in Malawi
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• A Forced Hand: Natives, Africans, and the Population of Brazil, 1545-1850
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• Is Fragmented Financing Bad for Your Health?
• Is Diversity Detrimental? Ethnic Fractionalization, Public Goods Provision, and the Historical Legacies of Stateness
• The Social Effects of Ethnic Diversity at the Local Level: A Natural Experiment with Exogenous Residential Allocation
• Inequality, Grievances, and Civil War
• Villages where China's ethnic minorities live
• IMMIGRATION, WAGES, AND COMPOSITIONAL AMENITIES
• Development economics [wikipedia]