Why Does Ethnic Diversity Undermine Public Goods Provision?: An Experimental Approach

CGD hosted "Why Does Ethnic Diversity Undermine Public Goods Provision?: An Experimental Approach," featuring Jeremy Weinstein, Assistant Professor of Political Science, Center for International Security and Cooperation, Stanford University, and Non-Resident Fellow, Center for Global Development. Weinstein discussed how a large and growing literature links high levels of ethnic diversity to low levels of public goods provision and addressed the question of why ethnically diverse societies provide fewer and worse public goods. Experimental games conducted with a random sample of 300 subjects in Kampala’s slums suggest that successful collective action among homogenous ethnic communities is attributable to the existence of norms and institutions that facilitate the sanctioning of non-contributors. The findings of this study were presented and discussed.

Download Jeremy Weinstein's paper (PDF, 300KB)