Ethnic Inequality
68 Pages Posted: 1 Feb 2013
Date Written: November 2012
Abstract
This study explores the consequences and origins of contemporary differences in well-being across ethnic groups within countries. We construct measures of ethnic inequality combining ethnolinguistic maps on the spatial distribution of groups with satellite images of light density at night. Ethnic inequality is strongly inversely related to per capita income; this pattern holds when we condition on the overall degree of spatial inequality -that is also associated with underdevelopment. We further show that differences in geographic endowments across ethnic homelands explain a sizable portion of contemporary ethnic inequality. This deeply rooted inequality in geographic attributes across ethnic regions is also negatively related to comparative development. We also show that ethnic inequality goes in tandem with lower levels development within countries. Using micro-level data from the Afrobarometer surveys we show that individuals from the same ethnic group are worse off when they reside in districts with a high degree of ethnic inequality.
Keywords: development, diversity, ethnicity, geography, inequality
JEL Classification: O10, O40, O43
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