Why Does Ethnic Diversity Undermine Public Goods Provision? An Experimental Approach

38 Pages Posted: 8 Sep 2006

See all articles by James P. Habyarimana

James P. Habyarimana

Georgetown University; Institute for the Study of Labor (IZA)

Macartan Humphreys

Columbia University

Daniel N. Posner

University of California, Los Angeles (UCLA)

Jeremy M. Weinstein

Stanford University - Freeman Spogli Institute for International Studies; Center for Global Development

Date Written: August 2006

Abstract

A large and growing literature links high levels of ethnic diversity to low levels of public goods provision. Yet while the empirical connection between ethnic heterogeneity and the underprovision of public goods is widely accepted, there is little consensus on the specific mechanisms through which this relationship operates. To gain analytic leverage on the question of why ethnicity matters, we identify three families of mechanisms - what we term preference, technology, and strategy mechanisms. Our empirical strategy is to identify and run a series of experimental games that permit us to examine these mechanisms in isolation and then to compare the importance of ethnicity in each. Results from experimental games conducted with a random sample of 300 subjects in Kampala's slums reveal that successful collective action among homogenous ethnic communities in urban Uganda is attributable to the existence of norms and institutions that facilitate the sanctioning of non-contributors. We find no evidence for a commonality of tastes within ethnic groups, for greater degrees of altruism toward co-ethnics, or for an impact of shared ethnicity on the productivity of teams.

Keywords: ethnic diversity, collective action, public goods, field experiments

JEL Classification: D71, H41, J15, O10, Z13

Suggested Citation

Habyarimana, James P. and Humphreys, Macartan and Posner, Daniel N. and Weinstein, Jeremy M., Why Does Ethnic Diversity Undermine Public Goods Provision? An Experimental Approach (August 2006). IZA Discussion Paper No. 2272, Available at SSRN: https://ssrn.com/abstract=928824 or http://dx.doi.org/10.2139/ssrn.928824

James P. Habyarimana (Contact Author)

Georgetown University ( email )

Washington, DC 20057
United States

Institute for the Study of Labor (IZA)

Schaumburg-Lippe-Str. 7 / 9
Bonn, D-53072
Germany

Macartan Humphreys

Columbia University ( email )

3022 Broadway
New York, NY 10027
United States

Daniel N. Posner

University of California, Los Angeles (UCLA) ( email )

405 Hilgard Avenue
Box 951361
Los Angeles, CA 90095
United States

Jeremy M. Weinstein

Stanford University - Freeman Spogli Institute for International Studies ( email )

Stanford, CA 94305
United States

Center for Global Development

2055 L St. NW
5th floor
Washington, DC 20036
United States

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