Diversity and Conflict

Cemal Eren Arbatli (), Quamrul Ashraf, Oded Galor and Marc Klemp

No 6989, CESifo Working Paper Series from CESifo

Abstract: This research advances the hypothesis and establishes empirically that interpersonal population diversity has contributed significantly to the emergence, prevalence, recurrence, and severity of intrasocietal conflicts. Exploiting an exogenous source of variations in population diversity across nations and ethnic groups, it demonstrates that population diversity, as determined predominantly during the exodus of humans from Africa tens of thousands of years ago, has contributed significantly to the risk and intensity of historical and contemporary internal conflicts, accounting for the confounding effects of geographical, institutional, and cultural characteristics, as well as for the level of economic development. These findings arguably reflect the adverse effect of population diversity on interpersonal trust, its contribution to divergence in preferences for public goods and redistributive policies, and its impact on the degree of fractionalization and polarization across ethnic, linguistic, and religious groups.

Keywords: social conflict; population diversity; ethnic fractionalization; ethnic polarization; interpersonal trust; political preferences (search for similar items in EconPapers)
JEL-codes: D74 N30 N40 O11 O43 Z13 (search for similar items in EconPapers)
Date: 2018
New Economics Papers: this item is included in nep-dev, nep-evo, nep-gro and nep-his
References: View references in EconPapers View complete reference list from CitEc
Citations: View citations in EconPapers (8)

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Related works:
Journal Article: Diversity and Conflict (2020)
Working Paper: Diversity and Conflict (2020)
Working Paper: Diversity and Conflict (2019)
Working Paper: Diversity and Conflict (2019)
Working Paper: Diversity and Conflict (2019)
Working Paper: Diversity and Conflict (2018)
Working Paper: Diversity and Conflict (2018)
Working Paper: Diversity and Conflict (2018)
Working Paper: Diversity and Conflict (2015)
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