Culture, Ethnicity, and Diversity

• 成果类型: Article
• 署名作者: Desmet, Klaus; Ortuno-Ortin, Ignacio; Wacziarg, Romain
• 署名单位: Southern Methodist University; Southern Methodist University; Centre for Economic Policy Research - UK; Universidad Carlos III de Madrid; University of California System; University of California Los Angeles; National Bureau of Economic Research
• 刊物名称: AMERICAN ECONOMIC REVIEW
• ISSN/ISSBN: 0002-8282
• DOI: 10.1257/aer.20150243
• 发表日期: 2017
• 页码: 2479-2513
• 关键词: public-goods; genetic diversity; origins; polarization; CLEAVAGES; CONFLICT

摘要

We investigate the empirical relationship between ethnicity and culture, defined as a vector of traits reflecting norms, values, and attitudes. Using survey data for 76 countries, we find that ethnic identity is a significant predictor of cultural values, yet that within-group variation in culture trumps between-group variation. Thus, in contrast to a commonly held view, ethnic and cultural diversity are unrelated. Although only a small portion of a country's overall cultural heterogeneity occurs between groups, we find that various political economy outcomes (such as civil conflict and public goods provision) worsen when there is greater overlap between ethnicity and culture.