Ethnic geography: Measurement and evidence

• 成果类型: Article
• 署名作者: Hodler, Roland; Valsecchi, Michele; Vesperoni, Alberto
• 署名单位: University of St Gallen; Centre for Economic Policy Research - UK; Leibniz Association; Ifo Institut; New Economic School; University of London; King's College London
• 刊物名称: JOURNAL OF PUBLIC ECONOMICS
• ISSN/ISSBN: 0047-2727
• DOI: 10.1016/j.jpubeco.2021.104446
• 发表日期: 2021
• 关键词: Measurement theory; ethnic diversity; Ethnic geography; segregation; fractionalization; Comparative development

摘要

We know little about how ethnic geography, i.e., the distribution of ethnic groups across space, shapes comparative economic, political and social development. To make progress and to harness the growing availability of spatially explicit data, we need indices summarizing key aspects of ethnic geography. We develop and axiomatize a novel index of ethnic segregation that takes both ethnic and spatial distances between individuals into account. We can decompose this index into indices of generalized ethnic fractionalization, spatial dispersion, and the alignment of spatial and ethnic distances. For our application, we compute different country-level versions of the segregation index and its components based on either ethnographic maps or geo-referenced survey data. Reassuringly, the different versions of the segregation index are highly correlated. We explore the relation of our indices to (i) existing measures of ethnic segregation and diversity; (ii) climatic and geographical factors; and (iii) the quality of government, economic development, and trust. (c) 2021 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.