Ethnic Inequality
72 Pages Posted: 3 Nov 2012 Last revised: 30 Jan 2023
There are 2 versions of this paper
Ethnic Inequality
Date Written: November 2012
Abstract
This study explores the consequences and origins of between-ethnicity economic inequality both across and within countries. First, combining satellite images of nighttime luminosity with the historical homelands of ethnolinguistic groups we construct measures of ethnic inequality for a large sample of countries and show that the latter is strongly inversely related to comparative development. Second, differences in geographic endowments across ethnic homelands explain a sizable portion of ethnic inequality contributing to its persistence over time. Third, exploiting across-district within-African countries variation using individual-level data on ethnic identification and well-being from the Afrobarometer Surveys we find that between ethnic-group inequality is systematically linked to regional under-development. In this sample we also explore the channels linking ethnic inequality to (under) development, finding that ethnic inequality maps to political inequality, heightened perceptions of discrimination and undersupply of public goods.
Suggested Citation: Suggested Citation
Do you have negative results from your research you’d like to share?
Recommended Papers
-
The Origins of State Capacity: Property Rights, Taxation, and Politics
By Timothy J. Besley and Torsten Persson
-
The Origins of State Capacity: Property Rights, Taxation, and Politics
By Timothy J. Besley and Torsten Persson
-
Emergence and Persistence of Inefficient States
By Daron Acemoglu, Davide Ticchi, ...
-
Emergence and Persistence of Inefficient States
By Daron Acemoglu, Davide Ticchi, ...
-
State Capacity, Conflict and Development
By Timothy J. Besley and Torsten Persson
-
State Capacity, Conflict and Development
By Timothy J. Besley and Torsten Persson
-
State Capacity, Conflict and Development
By Timothy J. Besley and Torsten Persson