Diversity and Development: The Interaction of Political Institutions with Social Context

Abstract

This paper uses data from the Demographic and Health Surveys (DHS) to explore the interrelationships of ethnic diversity, political institutions, and development outcomes, such as education and public health indicators. Specifically, it tests the hypothesis that the effects of ethnic diversity on these outcomes are mediated by the degree of political competition and the geographic distribution of ethnic populations. The DHS data have been collected in dozens of countries using nationally representative samples. These data, however, do not include measures of political institutions. This paper is part of a broader project that will expand the datasets to include political indicators, facilitating both cross-national and sub-national analyses. The ability to use individual-level survey data, rather than national indicators of development, permits the measurement of inequality in outcomes across ethnic groups and trace these outcomes to political patterns in each country.

Keywords: ethnic heterogeneity, public goods, development, democracy

JEL Classification: H41, H18, H31