Is diversity bad for economic growth?: Evidence from state-level data in the US

Nazmun Ratna (), R. Quentin Grafton and Tom Kompas

Journal of Behavioral and Experimental Economics (formerly The Journal of Socio-Economics), 2009, vol. 38, issue 6, 859-870

Abstract: The paper examines the macroeconomic effects of social diversity in the United States. Employing a cross-sectional dataset for 48 states, we find mixed empirical evidence for the impact of diversity on Gross State Product (GSP) per capita growth: racial diversity reduces GSP growth, while linguistic diversity raises GSP growth. Our findings suggest that because English is used frequently by non-native speakers barriers to communications based on race are more pronounced and enduring than those based on linguistic differences. The results provide a justification for establishing 'weak ties' across diverse racial groups as a means to enhance economic performance.

Keywords: Economic; growth; Racial; diversity; Linguistic; diversity (search for similar items in EconPapers)
Date: 2009
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Citations: View citations in EconPapers (12)

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Persistent link: https://EconPapers.repec.org/RePEc:eee:soceco:v:38:y:2009:i:6:p:859-870

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