Publication: Linguistic diversity and redistribution
Loading...
Identifiers
Publication date
2009
Defense date
Advisors
Tutors
Journal Title
Journal ISSN
Volume Title
Publisher
MIT Press
Abstract
This paper investigates the effect of linguistic diversity on redistribution in a broad cross-section of countries. We use the notion of "linguistic distances" and show that the commonly used fractionalization index, which ignores linguistic distances, yields insigni cant results. However, once distances between languages are accounted for, linguistic diversity has both a statistically and economically signi cant effect on redistribution. With an average level of redistribution of 9.5 percent of GDP in our data set, an increase by one standard deviation in the degree of diversity lowers redistribution by approximately one percentage point. We also demonstrate that other measures, such as polarization and peripheral heterogeneity, provide similar results when linguistic distances are incorporated.
Description
Keywords
Linguistic diversity, Redistribution, Polarization, Peripheral heterogeneity
Bibliographic citation
Journal of the European Economic Association , 2009, v. 7, n. 6, pp. 1291-1318