

National heterogeneity in the Russian regions: Assessment, change, impact on economic development
https://doi.org/10.32609/0042-8736-2021-1-120-142
Abstract
The paper provides quantitative estimates of national heterogeneity in the Russian regions, using indices of fractionalization and polarization, taking into account the linguistic distance between groups. The results showed that national heterogeneity in the period between the last population censuses in Russia as a whole did not increase, but there was a different and active dynamics in the regions. The content of the national structure in the country changed in the direction of bigger cultural distances between ethnic groups. Regression analysis of the relationship between national heterogeneity and output, budget expenditures, and crime rates showed more significant positive dependencies on the fractionalization index compared to negative correlations with the polarization index. In the situation of a relatively stable institutional environment in the country, national heterogeneity showed more active positive effects, while the potential for negative effects inherent in a polarized society did not find a sufficient basis to be realized.
Keywords
JEL: Z10, O10
About the Authors
A. N. BufetovaInstitute of Economics and Industrial Engineering, Siberian Branch of the Russian Academy of Sciences; Novosibirsk National Research State University
Russian Federation
Anna N. Bufetova
Novosibirsk
E. A. Kolomak
Institute of Economics and Industrial Engineering, Siberian Branch of the Russian Academy of Sciences; Novosibirsk National Research State University
Russian Federation
Evgeniya A. Kolomak
Novosibirsk
References
1. Bufetova A. N., Kolomak E. A., Mikhaleva M. M. (2017). National diversity and economic development of Russian regions. Mir Ekonomiki i Upravleniya, No. 3, pp. 143—157. (In Russian). https://doi.org/10.25205/2542-0429-2017-17-3-143-157
2. Nesena M. V. (2015). Impact of cultural diversity of Russian regions on economic indicators. Obshchestvennie Nauki i Sovremennost, No. 5, pp. 72—85. (In Russian).
3. Alesina A., Baqir R., Easterly W. (1999). Public goods and ethnic divisions. Quarterly Journal of Economics, Vol. 114, No. 4, pp. 1243—284. https://doi.org/10.1162/003355399556269
4. Alesina A., Devleeschauwer A., Easterly W., Kurlat S., Wacziarg R. (2003). Fractionalization. Journal of Economic Growth, Vol. 8, No. 2, pp. 155—194. https://doi.org/10.1023/A:1024471506938
5. Alesina A., La Ferrara E. (2000). Participation in heterogeneous communities. Quarterly Journal of Economics, Vol. 115, No. 3, pp. 847—904. https://doi.org/10.2139/ssrn.167328
6. Alesina A., La Ferrara E. (2001). Who trusts others? Journal of Public Economics, Vol. 85, No. 2, pp. 207—234. https://doi.org/10.1016/S0047-2727(01)00084-6
7. Alesina A., La Ferrara E. (2005). Ethnic diversity and economic performance. Journal of Economic Literature, Vol. 43, No. 3, pp. 762—800. https://doi.org/10.1257/002205105774431243
8. Alesina A., Harnoss J., Rapoport H. (2013). Birthplace diversity and economic prosperity. NBER Working Paper, No. 18699. https://doi.org/10.3386/w18699
9. Algan Y., Hemet C., Laitin D. (2013). The social effects of ethnic diversity at the local level: A natural experiment with exogenous residential allocation (Working Paper No. 38). Aix Marseille: Aix Marseille School of Economics.
10. Arcand J.-L., Jaimovich D. (2014). Does ethnic diversity decrease economic interactions? Evidence from exchange networks in Rural Gambia. Munich: MPRA Paper, No. 60497.
11. Bluedorn J. (2001). Can democracy help? Growth and ethnic divisions. Economics Letters, Vol. 70, No. 1, pp. 121—126. https://doi.org/10.1016/S0165-1765(00)00345-1
12. Brown C., Holman E., Wichmann S., Velupillai V. (2008). Automated classification of the world’s languages: A description of the method and preliminary results. Language Typology and Universals, Vol. 61, No. 4, pp. 285—308. https://doi.org/10.1524/stuf.2008.0026
13. Collier P. (2001). Implications of ethnic diversity. Economic Policy, Vol. 16, No. 32, pp. 128—166. https://doi.org/10.1111/1468-0327.00072
14. Desmet K., Le Breton M., Ortuño-Ortín I., Weber S. (2011). The stability and breakup of nations: A quantitative analysis. Journal of Economic Growth, Vol. 16, No. 183(2011). https://doi.org/10.1007/s10887-011-9068-z
15. Desmet K., Ortuño-Ortín I., Wacziarg R. (2012). The political economy of linguistic cleavages. Journal of Development Economics, Vol. 97, No. 2, pp. 322—338. https://doi.org/10.2139/ssrn.2125034
16. Dincer O. C., Wang F. (2011). Ethnic diversity and economic growth in China. Journal of Economic Policy Reform, Vol. 14, No. 1, pp. 1—10. https://doi.org/10.1080/17487870.2011.523985
17. Easterly W. (2001). The elusive quest for growth: Economists’ adventures and misadventures in the tropics. Cambridge MA: MIT Press.
18. Easterly B., Levine R. (1997). Africa’s growth tragedy: Policies and ethnic divisions. Quarterly Journal of Economics, Vol. 112, No. 4, pp. 1203—1250. https://doi.org/10.1162/003355300555466
19. Esteban J., Ray D. (1994). On the measurement of polarization. Econometrica, Vol. 62, No. 4, pp. 819—851. https://doi.org/10.2307/2951734
20. Esteban J., Ray D. (1999). Conflict and distribution. Journal of Economic Theory, Vol. 87, No. 2, pp. 379—415. https://doi.org/10.1006/jeth.1999.2549
21. Fearon J. (2003). Ethnic and cultural diversity by country. Journal of Economic Growth, Vol. 8, No. 2, pp. 195—222. https://doi.org/10.1023/A:1024419522867
22. Geng D. (2012). Identifying the unique polarization index: A mean-preserving axiomatic approach. Journal of Public Economic Theory, Vol. 14, No. 5, pp. 791—812. https://doi.org/10.1111/j.1467-9779.2012.01562.x
23. Gören E. (2014). How ethnic diversity affects economic growth. World Development, Vol. 59, No. C, pp. 275—297. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.worlddev.2014.01.012
24. Greif M. (2009). Neighbourhood attachment in the multiethnic metropolis. City & Community, Vol. 8, No. 1, pp. 27—45. https://doi.org/10.1111/j.1540-6040.2009.01268.x
25. Hamilton B., Nickerson J., Owan H. (2003). Team incentives and worker heterogeneity: An empirical analysis of the impact of teams on productivity and participation. Journal of Political Economy, Vol. 111, No. 3, pp. 465—497. https://doi.org/10.1086/374182
26. Horowitz D. (1985). Ethnic groups in conflict: Theories, рatterns, рolicies. Berkeley, CA: University of California Press.
27. Keefer P., Knack S. (2002). Polarization, politics, and property rights: Links between inequality and growth. Public Choice, Vol. 111, No. 1—2, pp. 127—154. https://doi.org/10.1023/A:1015168000336
28. Laitin D. (2000). What is a language community? American Journal of Political Science, Vol. 44, No. 1, рр. 142—155. https://doi.org/10.2307/2669300
29. Lazear E. P. (1999). Globalization and the market for teammates. Economic Journal, Vol. 109, No. 454, pp. 15—40. https://doi.org/10.1111/1468-0297.00414
30. Lee N. (2011). Ethnic diversity and employment growth in English cities. Urban Studies, Vol. 48, No. 2, pp. 407—425. https://doi.org/10.1177/0042098010363500
31. Lee N. (2015). Migrants and ethnic diversity, cities and innovation: Firm effect or city effects? Journal of Economic Geography, Vol. 15, No. 4, pp. 769—796. https://doi.org/10.1093/jeg/lbu032
32. Letki N. (2008). Does diversity erode social cohesion? Social capital and race in British neighbourhoods. Political Studies, Vol. 56, No. 3, pp. 99—126. https://doi.org/10.1111/j.1467-9248.2007.00692.x
33. Limonov L., Nesena M. (2016). Regional cultural diversity in Russia: Does it matter for regional economic performance? Area Development and Policy, Vol. 1, No. 1, pp. 63—93. https://doi.org/10.1080/23792949.2016.1164016
34. Melitz J., Toubal F. (2014). Native language, spoken language, translation and trade. Journal of International Economics, Vol. 93, No. 2, pp. 351—363. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jinteco.2014.04.004
35. Montalvo J., Reynal-Querol M. (2005). Ethnic diversity and economic development. Journal of Development Economics, Vol. 76, No. 2, pp. 293—323. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jdeveco.2004.01.002
36. Montalvo J., Reynal-Querol M. (2014). Cultural diversity, conflict, and economic development. In: V. Ginsburgh, D. Throsby (eds.). Handbook of the economics of art and culture, Vol. 2. North Holland: Springer, pp. 485—506.
37. Montalvo J., Reynal-Querol M. (2020). Ethnic diversity and growth: Revisiting the evidence. Review of Economics and Statistics, January 23, pp. 1—43, https://doi.org/10.1162/rest_a_00901
38. Nehring K., Puppe C. (2002). A theory of diversity. Econometrica, Vol. 70, No. 3, pp. 1155—1198. https://doi.org/10.1016/S1571-0653(04)00040-X
39. Ottaviano G., Peri G. (2006). The economic value of cultural diversity: Evidence from U.S. cities. Journal of Economic Geography, Vol. 6, No. 1, pp. 9—44. https://doi.org/10.1142/9789814719902_0007
40. Papyrakis E., Mo P. (2014). Fractionalization, polarization, and economic growth: Identifying the transmission channels. Economic Inquiry, Vol. 52, No. 3, pp. 1204—1218. https://doi.org/10.1111/ecin.12070
41. Parotta P., Pozzoli D., Pytlikova M. (2010). Does labour diversity affect firm productivity? ASB Working Paper, No. 10—12.
42. Putnam R. (1995). Bowling аlone: America’s declining social capital. Journal of Democracy, Vol. 6, No. 1, pp. 65—78. https://doi.org/10.1353/jod.1995.0002
43. Putnam R. (2007). E pluribus Unum: Diversity and community in the twenty-first century. The 2006 Johan Skytte Prize Lecture. Scandinavian Political Studies, Vol. 30, No. 2, pp. 137—173. https://doi.org/10.1111/j.1467-9477.2007.00176.x
44. Rodríguez-Pose A., von Berlepsch V. (2019). Does population diversity matter for economic development in the very long term? Historic migration, diversity and county wealth in the US. European Journal of Population, Vol. 35, No. 5, pp. 873—911. https://doi.org/10.1007/s10680-018-9507-z
45. Silver H., Messeri P. (2014). Concentrated poverty, racial/ethnic diversity and neighbourhood social capital in New York City. In: A.Christoforou, J. Davis (eds.). Social capital and economics. London: Routledge, pp. 115—146.
46. Singh P. (2010). We-ness and welfare: A longitudinal analysis of social development in Kerala, India. World Development, Vol. 39, No. 2, pp. 282—293. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.worlddev.2009.11.025
47. Sokoloff K., Engerman S. (2000). History lessons. Institutions, factor endowments, and paths of development in the new world. Journal of Economic Perspectives, Vol. 14, No. 3, pp. 217—232. https://doi.org/10.1257/jep.14.3.217
48. Staveren I., Pervaiz Z. (2017). Is it ethnic fractionalization or social exclusion, which affects social cohesion? Social Indicators Research, Vol. 130, pp. 711—731. https://doi.org/10.1007/s11205-015-1205-1
49. Stolle D., Soroka S., Johnston R. (2008). When does diversity erode trust? Neighbourhood diversity, interpersonal trust and the mediating effect of social interactions. Political Studies, Vol. 56, No. 3, pp. 57—75. https://doi.org/10.1111/j.1467-9248.2007.00717.x
50. Taylor C., Hudson M. (1972). World handbook of political and social indicators. New Haven, CT: Yale University Press.
51. Tolsma J., van der Meer T., Gesthuizen M. (2009). The impact of neighbourhood and municipality characteristics on social cohesion in the Netherlands. Acta Politica, Vol. 44, No. 3, pp. 286—313. https://doi.org/10.1057/ap.2009.6
Supplementary files
Review
For citations:
Bufetova A.N., Kolomak E.A. National heterogeneity in the Russian regions: Assessment, change, impact on economic development. Voprosy Ekonomiki. 2021;(1):120-142. (In Russ.) https://doi.org/10.32609/0042-8736-2021-1-120-142