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

Nazmun N. Ratna; R. Quentin Grafton; Tom Kompas

doi:10.1016/j.socec.2009.05.006

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

Nazmun N. Ratna^*, R. Quentin Grafton, Tom Kompas

^*Corresponding author for this work

Research output: Contribution to journal › Article › peer-review

12 Citations (Scopus)

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.

Original language	English
Pages (from-to)	859-870
Number of pages	12
Journal	Journal of Socio-Economics
Volume	38
Issue number	6
DOIs	https://doi.org/10.1016/j.socec.2009.05.006
Publication status	Published - Dec 2009

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title = "Is diversity bad for economic growth?. Evidence from state-level data in the US",

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.",

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

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