Economics of diversity : issues and prospects

2009

2011

This document provides a synthetic overview of a project to build an in ventory of key lite rature on the subject of "markets and diversity." The first phase of the project involved a literature search and compilation of one hundred bibliographic items and assembly of as many digital copies of these items as possible. This literature was gathered using various databases and Internet search tools and a range of search terms (some creativity was required given the reality that a simple search for markets and diversity yields thousands of items, almost none of which are related to an ethnically diverse, physical marketplace).

2005

Much of the debate surrounding the appropriateness of measures to protect or promote human diversity (usually embodied in attributes like language, religion, ethnicity or culture — with a significant degree of overlap between them) revolves around the question of the costs of such measures. These costs are, in fact, remarkably little-known, a fact which does not stop many commentators from making quite self-assured claims in this regard, generally to the effect that maintaining diversity is a costly indulgence.

1999

The purpose of this paper is to measure some of the economic effects of greater population diversity. Theoretically, the effects of greater diversity depend on trade-offs between dynamic and static efficiency and on the importance of informational networks. In general, the effects are ambiguous and need to be investigated empirically. To measure these effects, I estimate a production model for the manufacturing industry in Ontario and find that increased diversity, increased labour and production efficiency and had a positive effect on the demand for labour, total factor productivity and competitiveness.

This is the introduction to the RESEARCH HANDBOOK OF INTERNATIONAL AND COMPARATIVE PERSPECTIVES ON DIVERSITY MANAGEMENT (Elgar Publishing) that finds its place in a series of volumes on international perspectives on equality and diversity management addressing the need to expand the study of equality and diversity management beyond the USA and to question basic assumptions inherent in these concepts as theorized in the USA.

The Journal of Socio-Economics, 2009

The paper examines the macroeconomic effects of social diversity in the United States. Employing a cross-sectional dataset for 48 contiguous states in the US, we find empirical evidence for a negative impact of diversity on Gross State Product (GSP) per capita growth. The findings indicate that racial diversity has a negative economic impact in the absence of offsetting factors that would help to overcome barriers to communication across social groups. After controlling for low levels of English fluency, or the inability to communicate effectively, the estimated negative economic impact of racial diversity is even more pronounced. If low-level English fluency is positively correlated with the cost of communication across the population, as we would expect, the results indicate that racial diversity reduces GSP per capita growth when barriers to communication are higher. The results provide an economic justification for establishing 'weak ties' across diverse social groups in pluralistic societies.

1993

Economic diversity has often been promoted as a means to achieve the economic goal of stability. Few empirical studies have been able to relate higher levels of diversity to both economic stability and overall levels of economic activity. Diversity measures, as used in these studies, have tended to be narrowly defined, usually emphasizing the distribution of employment across industries. These measures are lacking because they do not capture any elements of endogenous interindustrial linkages. We suggest the conceptual and empirical measures of diversification are at the root of the poor performance of this literature. An alternative approach to measuring diversity based on the technical coefficients matrix of an input-output model is outlined and computed for the 50 US states. Empirical results suggest that higher levels of diversification within the theoretical construct of input-output are associated with higher levels of stability.

research memorandum, 2011

This paper aims to map out the consequences of migration flows for modern cities, and in particular it analyses various aspects of urban cultural diversity. It argues that the sustainable and innovative development of cities under conditions of creative cultures is possible, and it presents a 'pentagon model' as an analytical tool for investigating the necessary conditions for achieving a balanced and thriving urban development. The paper also pays attention to the socioeconomic aspects of urban pluriformity caused by the emergence of ethnic or migrant entrepreneurs. The paper presents an integrated overview of the advantages and drawbacks of cultural diversity in relation to mass migration inflows into modern cities. A major part of the paper is devoted to the positive and negative socioeconomic implications of cultural diversity. To that end, a series of extensive survey tables is provided. Finally, the relationship between diversity and innovativeness is addressed.

SSRN Electronic Journal, 2018

Any opinions expressed in this paper are those of the author(s) and not those of IZA. Research published in this series may include views on policy, but IZA takes no institutional policy positions. The IZA research network is committed to the IZA Guiding Principles of Research Integrity. The IZA Institute of Labor Economics is an independent economic research institute that conducts research in labor economics and offers evidence-based policy advice on labor market issues. Supported by the Deutsche Post Foundation, IZA runs the world's largest network of economists, whose research aims to provide answers to the global labor market challenges of our time. Our key objective is to build bridges between academic research, policymakers and society. IZA Discussion Papers often represent preliminary work and are circulated to encourage discussion. Citation of such a paper should account for its provisional character. A revised version may be available directly from the author.

2011

This paper aims to map out the consequences of migration flows for modern cities, and in particular it analyses various aspects of urban cultural diversity. It argues that the sustainable and innovative development of cities under conditions of creative cultures is possible, and it presents a ‘pentagon model’ as an analytical tool for investigating the necessary conditions for achieving a balanced and thriving urban development. The paper also pays attention to the socio-economic aspects of urban pluriformity caused by the emergence of ethnic or migrant entrepreneurs. The paper presents an integrated overview of the advantages and drawbacks of cultural diversity in relation to mass migration inflows into modern cities. A major part of the paper is devoted to the positive and negative socio-economic implications of cultural diversity. To that end, a series of extensive survey tables is provided. Finally, the relationship between diversity and innovativeness is addressed.