Hostname: page-component-78c5997874-g7gxr Total loading time: 0 Render date: 2024-11-08T07:32:45.151Z Has data issue: false hasContentIssue false
  • English
  • Français

Social fragmentation and economic growth: evidence from developing countries

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  21 June 2010

TADE O. OKEDIJI
TADE O. OKEDIJI*
Affiliation:
University of Minnesota, MinneapolisUSA
*
*Email: [email protected]
Get access Rights & Permissions [Opens in a new window]

Abstract:

This paper proposes a composite measure of ethnic fragmentation, the Social Diversity Index (SDI) to capture inherent multidimensionality not captured in the prevalent Ethno-Linguistic Fractionalization Index (ELF). The SDI more accurately demonstrates the direct effects of hidden diversity values and the extent and corresponding costs of ethnic diversity on economic growth. A comparative empirical analysis of the results from 132 countries employing the SDI and the ELF Index, suggests that the SDI is more robustly correlated with growth, and does a moderately better job of explaining the effect of exogenous static ethnic diversity. However, the empirical effects of ethnic diversity on growth tend to diminish with the inclusion of additional macroeconomic variables.

Type
Research Article
Information
Journal of Institutional Economics , Volume 7 , Issue 1 , March 2011 , pp. 77 - 104
Copyright
Copyright © The JOIE Foundation 2010

Access options

Get access to the full version of this content by using one of the access options below. (Log in options will check for institutional or personal access. Content may require purchase if you do not have access.)

References

Acemoglu, D., Johnson, S., and Robinson, J. (2001), ‘The Colonial Origins of Comparative Development: An Empirical Investigation’, American Economic Review, 91 (5): 1369–1401.Google Scholar
Adam, H. (1995), ‘The Politics of Ethnic Identity: Comparing South Africa’, Ethnic and Racial Studies, 18 (3): 457–475.Google Scholar
Adelman, I. and Morris, C.T. (1967), Society, Politics, and Economic Development: A Quantitative Approach, Baltimore: Johns Hopkins Press.Google Scholar
Adelman, I. and Morris, C.T. (1968), ‘Performance Criteria for Evaluating Economic Development Potential: An Operational Approach’, Quarterly Journal of Economics, 82 (2): 260–280.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Alesina, A., Devleeschauwer, A., Easterly, W., Kurlat, S., and Wacziarg, R. (2003), ‘Fractionalization’, Journal of Economic Growth, 8 (2): 155–194.Google Scholar
Alesina, A. and Drazen, A. (1991), ‘Why Are Stabilizations Delayed’, American Economic Review, 81 (5): 1170–1188.Google Scholar
Alesina, A. and La Ferrara, E. (2005), ‘Ethnic Diversity and Economic Performance’, Journal of Economic Literature, 43 (3): 721–761.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Alesina, A. and Rodrik, D. (1994), ‘Distributive Politics and Economic Growth’, Quarterly Journal of Economics, 109 (2): 465–490.Google Scholar
Alesina, A. and Spoloare, E. (1997), ‘On the Number and Size of Nations’, Quarterly Journal of Economics, 112 (4): 1027–1056.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Alesina, A. and Tabelleni, G. (1989), ‘External Debt, Capital Flight and Political Risk’, Journal of International Economics, 17: 199–220.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Annett, A. (1999), ‘Ethnic and Religious Division, Political Instability, and Government Consumption’, IMF Staff Papers, 48 (3): 561–592.Google Scholar
Atlas Narodov Mira (Atlas of the Peoples of the World) (1964), Glavnoe Upravlenie Geodezii i Kartografii, Moscow.Google Scholar
Bardhan, P. (1997), ‘Method in the Madness? A Political-Economy Analysis of Ethnic Conflicts in Less Developed Countries’, World Development, 25 (9): 1381–1398.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Barrett, D., Kurian, G., and Johnson, T. (2001), World Christian Encyclopedia, New York: Oxford University Press.Google Scholar
Barro, R. (1991), ‘Economic Growth in a Cross Section of Countries’, Quarterly Journal of Economics, 106 (2): 407–443.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Barro, R. (1999), ‘Determinants of Democracy’, Journal of Political Economy, 107 (2): 158–163.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Barro, R. and Lee, , Jong-Wha. (2000), ‘International Data on Educational Attainment: Updates and Implications’, Center for International Development, Harvard University, http://www.cid.harvard.edu, viewed 7 October 2008.Google Scholar
Barro, R. and Sala-i-Martin, X. (1992), ‘Convergence’, Journal of Political Economy, 100 (2): 223–251.Google Scholar
Brunetti, A. (1997), ‘Political Variables in Cross-Country Growth Analysis’, Journal of Economic Surveys, 11 (2): 163–190.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Buehler, S., Kaiser, C., and Jaeger, F. (2009), ‘The Geographic and Cultural Determinants of Bankruptcy: Evidence from Switzerland’, Working paper. Department of Economics, University of St Gallen.Google Scholar
Burns, E. (1993), A History of Brazil, New York: Columbia University Press.Google Scholar
Canada's Ethnocultural Mosaic (2006), Census, Statistics Canada, http://www.statcan.gc.ca.htm, viewed 5 January 2010.Google Scholar
Central Intelligence Agency (CIA) (1999), The World Factbook, Central Intelligence Agency, Washington, DC.Google Scholar
Collier, P. (2000), ‘Ethnicity, Politics and Economic Performance’, Economics and Politics, 3 (12): 225–245.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Collier, P. and Sambanis, N. (2002), ‘Understanding Civil War: A New Agenda’, Journal of Conflict Resolution, 46 (3): 3–12.Google Scholar
Centre for the Study of Civil War (2006), www.prio.no/cwp/ArmedConflict.htm, viewed 16 May 2006.Google Scholar
Correlates of War Project (COW) (2006), University of Michigan, www.correlatesofwar.org.htm, viewed 16 May 2006.Google Scholar
Democracy Index, Freedom House, http://www.freedomhouse.org.htm, viewed 15 May 2006.Google Scholar
Diamond, L. and Plattner, M. (eds.) (1994), Nationalism, Ethnic Conflict, and Democracy, Baltimore: The Johns Hopkins University Press.Google Scholar
Djankov, S. and Reynal-Querol, M. (2007), ‘The Causes of Civil War’, World Bank Policy Research Working Paper No. 4254.Google Scholar
Doyle, M. and Sambanis, N. (2000), ‘International Peace Building: A Theoretical and Quantitative Analysis’, American Political Science Review, 94 (4): 779–801.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Easterly, W. (1994), ‘Economic Stagnation, Fixed Factors, and Policy Thresholds’, Journal of Monetary Economics, 33 (3): 525–557.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Easterly, W. (2001), ‘Can Institutions Resolve Ethnic Conflict?’, Economic Development and Cultural Change, 49 (4): 687–706.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Easterly, W. and Levine, R. (1997), ‘Africa's Growth Tragedy: Policies and Ethnic Divisions’, Quarterly Journal of Economics, 12 (4): 1203–1250.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Encyclopedia Britannica (EB) (2000–2003), Chicago.Google Scholar
Enloe, C. (1996), ‘Religion and Ethnicity’, in Hutchinson, J. and Smith, A. (eds.), Ethnicity, New York: Oxford University Press, pp. 197–202.Google Scholar
Fearon, J. (2003), ‘Ethnic and Cultural Diversity by Country’, Journal of Economic Growth, 8 (2): 195–222.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Gagnon, V. (1994), ‘Serbia's Road to War’, in Diamond, L. and Plattner, M. (eds.), Nationalism, Ethnic Conflict, and Democracy, Baltimore: The Johns Hopkins University Press, pp. 117–131.Google Scholar
Hasenbalg, C. (1984), ‘Race Relations in Modern Brazil’, Latin America Institute, University of New Mexico.Google Scholar
Hoeffler, A. (2008), ‘Dealing with the Consequences of Violent Conflicts in Africa’, Working Paper, Centre for the Study of African Economies, University of Oxford.Google Scholar
Horowitz, D. (1985), Ethnic Groups in Conflict, Berkeley, CA: University of California Press.Google Scholar
Horowitz, D. (1994), ‘Democracy in Divided Societies’, in Diamond, L. and Plattner, M. (eds.), Nationalism, Ethnic Conflict, and Democracy, Baltimore: The Johns Hopkins University Press, pp. 117–131.Google Scholar
Hutchinson, J. and Smith, A. (eds.) (1986), Ethnicity, New York: Oxford University Press.Google Scholar
Huntington, S. (1991), The Third Wave: Democratization in the Late Twentieth Century, Oklahoma: University of Oklahoma Press.Google Scholar
La Porta, R., Lopez-de-Silanes, F., and Vishny, R. (1999), ‘The Quality of Government’,Journal of Law, Economics and Organization, 15 (1): 222–279.Google Scholar
Library of Congress (various years), Country Study, Washington, DC.Google Scholar
Maclaren, M. (2007), ‘Swiss cantons bear brunt of nation's multilingualism’, Federations, 7 (1): 13–15.Google Scholar
Mauro, P. (1995), ‘Corruption and Growth’, Quarterly Journal of Economics, 110 (3): 681–712.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Mobarak, A. (2005), ‘Democracy, Volatility, and Economic Development’, Review of Economics and Statistics, 87 (2): 348–361.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Montalvo, J. and Reynal-Querol, M. (2005), ‘Ethnic Diversity and Economic Development’, Journal of Development Economics, 76 (2): 293–323.Google Scholar
Muller, S. (1964), The World's Living Languages: Basic Facts of Their Structure, Kinship, Location and Number of Speakers, New York: Ungar.Google Scholar
Noormamode, S. (2008), ‘Impact of Foreign Direct Investment on Economic Growth: Do Host Country Social and Economic Conditions Matter?’, Working Paper, Department of Economics, University of Neuchâtel, Switzerland.Google Scholar
North, D. (1994), ‘Economic Performance through Time’, American Economic Review, 84 (3): 359–368.Google Scholar
Okediji, T. (2005), ‘The Dynamics of Ethnic Fragmentation: A Proposal For an Expanded Measurement Index’, The American Journal of Economics and Sociology, 64 (2): 637–662.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Posner, D. (2004), ‘Measuring Ethnic Fractionalization in Africa’, American Journal of Political Science, 48 (4): 849–863.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Reynal-Querol, M. (2002), ‘Ethnicity, Political Systems, and Civil Wars’, Journal of Conflict Resolution, 46 (1): 29–54.Google Scholar
Roberts, J. (1962), ‘Sociocultural Change and Communications Problems’, in Rice, F. (ed.), Study of the Role of Second Languages in Asia, Africa, and Latin America, Washington, DC: Center for Applied Linguistics of the Modern Language Association of America.Google Scholar
Sachs, J. and Warner, A. (1997) Trade Openness Indicators, http://www.cid.harvard.edu.htm, viewed 14 January 2008.Google Scholar
Sambanis, N. (2000), ‘Partition as a Solution to Ethnic War: An Empirical Critique of the Theoretical Literature’, World Politics, 52 (4): 437–483.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Shleifer, A. and Vishny, R. (1993), ‘Corruption’, Quarterly Journal of Economics, 108 (3): 599–618.Google Scholar
Skidmore, T. (1999), Brazil Five Centuries of Change, New York: Oxford University Press.Google Scholar
Skidmore, T. (1974), Black into White: Race and Nationality in Brazilian Thought, New York: Oxford University Press.Google Scholar
Sowell, T. (1996), Migrations and Cultures, New York: Basic Books.Google Scholar
Tavares, J. and Wacziarg, R. (2001), ‘How Democracy Affects Growth’, European Economic Review, 45 (8): 1341–1378.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Taylor, C. and Hudson, M. (1972), The World Handbook of Political and Social Indicators, New Haven: Yale University Press.Google Scholar
Wooldridge, J. (2003), Introductory Econometrics: A Modern Approach, Ohio: South-Western.Google Scholar
World Bank (1972), The World Handbook of Political and Social Indicators.Google Scholar
Wu, J. and Hsu, C. (2008), ‘Does Foreign Direct Investment Promote Economic Growth? Evidence from a Threshold Regression Analysis’, Economics Bulletin, 15 (12): 1–10.Google Scholar