Does Ethnic Fractionalization Matter for Development?

<a href="https://embed.stanford.edu/iframe/?url=https%3A%2F%2Fpurl.stanford.edu%2Fwn827gk0228" class="su-underline">Show Content</a>

Abstract/Contents

Abstract: An existing literature finds that ethnic fractionalization (a measure of ethnic diversity) is negatively correlated with various development outcomes, including growth and public goods provision (Alesina and La Ferrara, 2005). This paper attempts to deal with issues of endogeneity in work related to ethnic fractionalization. I develop an instrument for fractionalization based on the arbitrary construction of African borders, and also use a control function approach to deal with omitted variables bias. Both methods generate evidence that the endogeneity of ethnic fractionalization causes substantial bias in regressions of growth on fractionalization, and the true effect substantially smaller, although very difficult to estimate precisely. I develop a game theoretic model to explain how to reconcile micro-level evidence of harmful ethnic favoritism with macro-level effects of ambiguous sign.

Type of resource	text
Date created	May 2015

Author	Majerovitz, Jeremy
Primary advisor	Dupas, Pascaline
Degree granting institution	Stanford University, Department of Economics

Subject	Stanford Department of Economics
Genre	Thesis

Related item	Title 2015 David M. Kennedy Honors Thesis Prize and 2015 Firestone Medal for Excellence in Undergraduate Research
Location	https://purl.stanford.edu/wn827gk0228

Use and reproduction: User agrees that, where applicable, content will not be used to identify or to otherwise infringe the privacy or confidentiality rights of individuals. Content distributed via the Stanford Digital Repository may be subject to additional license and use restrictions applied by the depositor.

Preferred Citation: Majerovitz, Jeremy. (2015). Does Ethnic Fractionalization Matter for Development?. Stanford Digital Repository. Available at: https://purl.stanford.edu/wn827gk0228

Stanford University, Department of Economics, Honors Theses

Loading usage metrics...