Social scientists have long studied the effects of population diversity on society. The research project proposed here breaks new ground in multiple dimensions by rigorously estimating the long-run effects of (i) local population diversity, (ii) individual diversity, and (iii) the interaction between these two concepts, on comparative socioeconomic performance across locations and lineages within a country.
Through a combination of two extensive high-quality databases covering the complete genealogy of a large territory, spanning its settlement in the 16th century up to present day, I analyze the effects of diversity using measures of diversity that are well-established in the field of quantitative genetics. The project delivers the first within-country long-run investigations involving local and individual diversity. First, I hypothesize that the diversity of an individual’s ancestors has a significant effect on the productivity of that individual as well as his descendants. In particular, I hypothesize that individuals from more diverse lineages were more capable of adjusting to changing economic conditions, finding new productive niches, and thus raising that individual’s income. Second, I hypothesize that the negative effects of diversity found on the country level are less operative within a country. Thus, local population diversity should have has had a monotonically positive effect on long-run development within a country. Third, I hypothesize that there is an interaction effect between population-level and individual-level diversity. Thus, I suggest that the effect of individual diversity is affected by the diversity of the locality in which the individual is situated. In particular, I hypothesize that there is a greater benefit to individual diversity in less diverse localities.
The impact of diversity on economic performance is a highly debated topic and the present research project sheds new lights on this widely discussed topic.
