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Can Ethno-Linguistic Diversity Explain Cross-Country Differences in Social Capital?: A Global Perspective

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  • Cong Wang
  • Bodo Steiner

Abstract

type="main" xml:id="ecor12195-abs-0001"> Motivated by the inconclusiveness of empirical studies on the relationship between ethno-linguistic diversity and social capital (SC) at various levels of regional aggregation, this paper provides new evidence on the relationship between the two variables at a global scale. A cross-sectional analysis of 68 developed and developing countries applying two-stage least squares estimations suggests not only that the cognitive dimension of SC (shared codes and languages) is highly important for SC formation across regional origin, but also that countries with a greater degree of linguistic fractionalisation have a lower SC stock. In particular, countries with fractionalized ethnic and linguistic groups, as captured by number of languages and measures of linguistic diversity, tend to have lower levels of social trust, fewer memberships in social organisations, and deteriorated social norms and structures. The negative ethnic fractionalisation effect on SC is also found weaker in higher-income and in non-African countries.

Suggested Citation

  • Cong Wang & Bodo Steiner, 2015. "Can Ethno-Linguistic Diversity Explain Cross-Country Differences in Social Capital?: A Global Perspective," The Economic Record, The Economic Society of Australia, vol. 91(294), pages 338-366, September.
    • Handle: RePEc:bla:ecorec:v:91:y:2015:i:294:p:338-366
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    File URL: http://hdl.handle.net/10.1111/ecor.2015.91.issue-294
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    Citations

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    Cited by:

    1. Yann Algan & Pierre Cahuc, 2010. "Inherited Trust and Growth," American Economic Review, American Economic Association, vol. 100(5), pages 2060-2092, December.
    2. Sefa Awaworyi Churchill, 2019. "Firm financial performance in Sub-Saharan Africa: the role of ethnic diversity," Empirical Economics, Springer, vol. 57(3), pages 957-970, September.
    3. Simplice Asongu & Oasis Kodila-tedika, 2017. "Tribalism and Government Effectiveness," Economics Bulletin, AccessEcon, vol. 37(1), pages 156-167.
    4. Cantarella, Michele & Fraccaroli, Nicolò & Volpe, Roberto, 2024. "Does language prevent policy take-up? Evidence from the Italian Start-up Act," Research Policy, Elsevier, vol. 53(6).
    5. repec:hal:spmain:info:hdl:2441/432sbils8u9t7qa99cii5psht1 is not listed on IDEAS
    6. Awaworyi Churchill, Sefa, 2015. "Fractionalization and Entrepreneurial Activities," EconStor Preprints 123723, ZBW - Leibniz Information Centre for Economics.
    7. Awaworyi Churchill, Sefa & Smyth, Russell, 2017. "Ethnic Diversity and Poverty," World Development, Elsevier, vol. 95(C), pages 285-302.
    8. Silvia Mendolia & Alex Tosh & Oleg Yerokhin, 2016. "Ethnic Diversity and Trust: New Evidence from Australian Data," The Economic Record, The Economic Society of Australia, vol. 92(299), pages 648-665, December.
    9. Yann Algan & Pierre Cahuc, 2010. "Inherited Trust and Growth," American Economic Review, American Economic Association, vol. 100(5), pages 2060-2092, December.
    10. Sefa Awaworyi Churchill, 2017. "Microfinance and Ethnic Diversity," The Economic Record, The Economic Society of Australia, vol. 93(300), pages 112-141, March.
    11. Sefa Awaworyi Churchill & Davidson Okai & Alberto Posso, 2016. "Internet Use and Ethnic Heterogeneity in a Cross-Section of Countries," Economic Papers, The Economic Society of Australia, vol. 35(1), pages 59-72, March.
    12. Awaworyi Churchill, Sefa & Nuhu, Ahmed Salim, 2015. "Ethnic Diversity and Educational Attainment," EconStor Conference Papers 125567, ZBW - Leibniz Information Centre for Economics.
    13. Sefa Awaworyi Churchill & Janet Exornam Ocloo & Diana Siawor-Robertson, 2017. "Ethnic Diversity and Health Outcomes," Social Indicators Research: An International and Interdisciplinary Journal for Quality-of-Life Measurement, Springer, vol. 134(3), pages 1077-1112, December.
    14. Sefa Awaworyi Churchill, 2017. "Fractionalization, entrepreneurship, and the institutional environment for entrepreneurship," Small Business Economics, Springer, vol. 48(3), pages 577-597, March.
    15. Cong Wang & Bodo Steiner, 2020. "Can social capital explain business performance in Denmark?," Empirical Economics, Springer, vol. 59(4), pages 1699-1722, October.

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