Working Paper: NBER ID: w20989
Authors: Klaus Desmet; Ignacio Ortuño Ortín; Romain Wacziarg
Abstract: We investigate the empirical relationship between ethnicity and culture, defined as a vector of traits reflecting norms, attitudes and preferences. Using surveys of individual values in 76 countries, we find that ethnic identity is a significant predictor of cultural values, yet that within-group variation in culture trumps between-group variation. Thus, in contrast to a commonly held view, ethnic and cultural diversity are unrelated. We explore the correlates of cultural diversity and of the overlap between culture and ethnicity, finding that the level of economic development is positively associated with cultural diversity and negatively associated with the overlap between culture and ethnicity. Finally, although only a small portion of a country's overall cultural heterogeneity occurs between groups, this does not imply that cultural differences between groups are irrelevant. Indeed, we find that civil conflict becomes more likely when there is greater overlap between ethnicity and culture.
Keywords: Ethnicity; Culture; Diversity; Civil Conflict
JEL Codes: D74; J15; P48; Z10
Edges that are evidenced by causal inference methods are in orange, and the rest are in light blue.
| Cause | Effect |
|---|---|
| ethnolinguistic identity (Z13) | cultural attitudes (Z10) |
| cultural fractionalization (Z19) | civil conflict (D74) |
| ethnic diversity (J15) | cultural diversity (Z10) |
| overlap between cultural attitudes and ethnic identity (Z13) | civil conflict (D74) |
| cultural attitudes (Z10) | civil conflict (D74) |