Ethnic Diversity, Prejudice and Wellbeing Among Older Chinese

Perspectives and past findings on the link between ethno-cultural diversity and innovation have been divided. The authors reason that contradictory past findings could have resulted from a lack of conceptual dissociation between two sources of ethno-cultural diversity: ethnic categorization and cultural distance between ethnic categories. By conceptually and empirically teasing apart these two sources of diversity, the authors demonstrated that diversity arising from ethnic categorization (referred to as ethnic diversity) impairs innovation while diversity arising from cultural distance (referred to as cultural diversity) promotes innovation. Furthermore, the findings indicate that whereas the dampening effect of ethnic diversity persists regardless of level of inter-ethnic tension, the enhancing effect of cultural diversity only emerges when inter-ethnic tension is low. Finally, consistent with the National Innovation System perspective, the present study shows that structural innovation input positively contributes to innovation output and the relationship between diversity and innovation output is mediated via innovation input. Taken together, this study contributes to the literature by (1) conceptually and empirically differentiating between the two sources of ethno-cultural diversity, (2) demonstrating the contrasting effects of ethnic and cultural diversity on innovation, and (3) unpacking the indirect effects of ethno-cultural diversity on innovation output via innovation input.

There exist many studies that explore the relationship between diversity (age, gender, ethnicity, education etc.) and firm performance. This study builds upon these and extends the research by examining the effects of gender diversity, ethnic diversity, and CSR related diversity measures on the shareholder value of a firm. Using data from North American firms, the central question that this paper examines is whether gender, ethnic and CSR related diversity initiatives have a positive effect on shareholder value. The study accounts for endogeneity effects using interaction effects as well as controlling for fixed firm and year effects. It finds that gender diversity in leadership (CEO positions and board members) has a positive effect on shareholder value and ethnic diversity in leadership (board members) has a positive effect on shareholder value. It also finds that CSR related diversity initiatives have a negative effect on shareholder value. All of these results are statistically insignificant.

Exploring democracy and ethnic diversity as sociopolitical moderators for the relationship between age and generalized trust

In the past twenty years, there has been a growing pessimism on the effects of ethnic diversity. Studies are dominated by the assumption that ethnic diversity is a problem along multiple dimensions. Studies also suggest that countries marked with high levels of ethnic diversity are less peaceful, less democratic, underdeveloped, and negligent to the needs of the poor. In short, ethnic diversity is seen as a dysfunction for modern societies, and is moreover viewed as a threat to political systems, as ethnic minorities are now seeking public recognition in the form of multiculturalism and minority rights. This article discusses ethnic diversity in Canada. Against the background of the pessimistic view on diversity, Canada is an exception. It contains high levels of ethnic, linguistic, and religious diversity. Moreover, although Canada supports multiculturalism and minority rights, it remains peaceful and enjoys a prosperous democracy with a reasonably well-developed welfare state. The Canadian experience suggests that the effects of ethnic diversity and identity politics are not predetermined, and that a multicultural form of citizenship is possible. In the following discussions of the article, the basic features of the Canadian approach to ethnic diversity, including the controversies and challenges of Canadian diversity, are examined.

Does ethnic diversity affect well-being and allostatic load among people across neighbourhoods in England?

SummaryPeople are attracted to the idea of nationalism and a national identity. Existing literature proposes that social heterogeneity has a detrimental effect on national identity. We contribute to this literature by proposing that religious diversity, as another form of social heterogeneity, can better explain the formation of a national identity. We construct an index for national identity using information from the World Values Survey on peoples' affection for their nation. We then analyze the relationship between national identity and religious diversity. The results suggest that religious diversity is significantly and negatively related to national identity. We also find support for the previous finding that ethnic diversity does not seem to be related to national identity. Democratic institutions and mobility throughout the country are positively related to national identity if religious diversity is sufficiently high. Democratic institutions can overcome the negative effect of religious diversity on national identity.

Software teams are increasingly ethnically diverse due to the growth in distributed software development and a globally mobile labour force. As ethnicity reflects critical aspects of an individual's values, beliefs and behaviours, ethnic diversity has been found to affect team collaboration and therefore influence team performance. However research is mixed in determining whether ethnic diversity improves or hinders team performance. Previous research indicates that task related aspects can be enhanced through a variety of perspectives but relationship related aspects can be hindered through challenges with team communication and conflict. In this paper interview responses from managers of 16 software projects have been analysed to consider how the project manager can influence the effects of ethnic team diversity. The findings indicate that project managers who recognised that ethnic diversity affected team productivity were more likely to take actions to maximise the positive effects of ethnic diversity. Using socio-technical system theory, the duality of software development as both social and technical is highlighted, along with the critical independencies between these two components. This helps to understand and explain the effect of ethnically diverse software teams and the role of project managers' attitudes and actions on team collaboration.

Crime motivated by hate toward social groups and identities is a major social problem. Due to the rise of interethnic, ideological, and religious tensions, the criminal policy relevance of this crime has increased. One compelling question for hate crime researchers has been whether hate crime is different from general crime. In this study, we draw on the most recent available comparative European dataset, the third sweep of the International Self-Report Delinquency Study ( N = 34,871), to explore the extent and correlates of hate crime offending across sampled urban youth populations from 17 European countries. We find that 2.5% of 12–16-year-olds reported involvement in a hate crime. Country rates range from 0.7% to 6.5%, with the lowest figures observed in Western Europe and the highest figures observed in Southeast Europe. The individual-level risk factors of hate crimes tend to be the same as in other offending, thus supporting general rather than specific causation. However, some evidence suggests that some risk factors were particularly strongly associated with committing hate-motivated crimes: disorder in neighborhood, risky routines, discriminatory attitudes, low self-control and propensity to feel shame, lifetime delinquency, male gender, and hate crime victimization. Country-level differences in the studied individual-level risk factors only partly explained the differences between urban youth populations in the prevalence of hate crime, thus indicating national-level contextual effects that should be further explored in future research. As our data are based on city-level samples rather than full national populations, these findings should be interpreted as reflecting differences between urban areas in different countries rather than nationwide patterns.

According to Minister Mentor Lee Kuan Yew, Singapore’s electoral system is essentially representative and does not suffer from significant ethnic conflict. Opposition leaders, however, denounce legislative elections as unfair and claim that Singapore's ethnic minorities disagree politically with the Chinese-dominated People's Action Party (PAP). This essay aims to test both of these hypotheses empirically, using freely available electoral and public-opinion data. Logistic regression of the 1968-2006 parliamentary election results by constituency indicates that the PAP government did create Group Representation Constituencies in 1988 so as to eliminate districts that had voted disproportionately for the opposition in 1984. Analysis using Gary King's method of ecological inference suggests that ethic polarization between Chinese and Malays was moderately high in the 1976 election, peaked in 1988, and was minimal in 2006. Indians, meanwhile, appear to have voted with the Chinese in all three elections. A parallel cross-sectional, logistic regression of the 2002 Singapore subset of the World Values Survey, however, has Indian respondents being slightly less likely to admit to dissatisfaction with the government and indicates that being Malay does not make one more willing to express such dissatisfaction. These empirical results thus cast doubt on the extent to which Singapore's elections have been truly free, fair, and devoid of ethnic tension. The findings also suggest that young, middle-class, highly educated Chinese have replaced working-class Malays as the greatest challenge to continued PAP dominance.

Purpose National identity has a profound impact on building a modern state, maintaining social stability and promoting economic development. Based on three waves of data collected from the World Values Survey (WVS) in Hong Kong between 2005 and 2018, this study aims to examine the changes in the national identity awareness of Hong Kongese over time. Design/methodology/approach The data used in this paper originate from the WVS. The WVS is a cross-country time-series survey that has been carried out in seven waves in 85 countries around the world, since 1981. There are three waves of data involving Hong Kong, which were obtained from the surveys in 2005, 2014 and 2018. Findings This study examined the changes in the national identity awareness of Hong Kongese over time and found that this has shown both continuity and rupture. Extreme groups lacking national identity have emerged and become more common over the decades and the elites’ national identity is much stronger than that of the lower and middle classes. It also shows that political trust, social capital, subjective well-being and possession of authoritarian personality have strong explanatory power for the changes in Hong Kongese national identity over time, but their explanatory strength varies across eras. Originality/value Based on three waves of surveys conducted by the WVS in Hong Kong in 2005, 2014 and 2018, respectively, this paper charts these changes over time and explores the differences in how they are influenced by political trust, social capital, subjective well-being and authoritarian personality.

Widespread ethnic prejudice is an incomplete explanation for the development of war in the former Yugoslavia. However, high levels of prejudice in ethnic enclaves played an important role in increasing ethnic tensions and facilitating the outbreak of war. The purpose of this article is to explain county differences in average levels of ethnic prejudice in Bosnia and Croatia prior to the wars of national separation. We focus on structural characteristics of counties, such as ethnic diversity, economic conditions, and ethnic segregation and inequality, to explain county differences in average levels of prejudice. We also consider the possibility that compositional differences among counties (e.g., differences in average levels of education) explain county differences in ethnic prejudice. We combine survey data and county-level census data collected immediately prior to the wars of national separation and use hierarchical linear modeling techniques to analyze these data. Results suggest that ethnic diversity and ethnic occupational segregation decrease ethnic prejudice while ethnic economic inequality increases ethnic prejudice. Thus, structural characteristics account for some of the county differences in average levels of prejudice. County compositional differences, however, explain a majority of the county variation in ethnic prejudice. These results provide important clues to the origins of pockets of intense ethnic prejudice within diverse societies.

Does co-ethnic cabinet representation change how people respond to increasing ethnic cabinet diversity? Existing literature studies co-ethnic representation and cabinet diversity separately. I argue that the interaction between co-ethnic cabinet representation and ethnic cabinet diversity lowers government confidence and impacts feelings of ethnic fairness. Using a newly constructed dataset linking both the World Values Survey and the Afrobarometer to country-year measures of ethnic cabinet diversity, I find that interacting co-ethnic representation with ethnic cabinet diversity largely has the expected results. Country leaders should think carefully about how to manage cabinet appointments in order to improve attitudes toward government.

ABSTRACTThis study contributes to the development literature by providing a new perspective on understanding factors that influence human capital development in India. We examine the effects of ethnic, linguistic and religious diversity on various measures of human capital at the state and district levels. Based on indices of ethnic diversity calculated for 30 Indian States and 557 districts, we examine the direct effects of ethnic diversity on indicators such as infant mortality, education and health. Our findings suggest that, on average, ethnic diversity contributes to some elements of development. Specifically, we find evidence to support development-enhancing effects of diversity on education and health.

We address the question “can cross-country differences in ethnic diversity explain cross-country differences in tourism revenues and tourist arrivals?” Thus, using data from 141 countries, we examine the effects of ethnic diversity on tourism revenues and tourist arrivals. We measure ethnic diversity using indices of ethnic fractionalization and measure tourism revenue using total, direct and indirect tourism contributions to gross domestic product. We find detrimental effects of ethnic diversity. Our results are robust to alternative estimation approaches as well as alternative ways to measure ethnic diversity.

As the public sector workforce becomes more ethnically diverse and as government agencies make attempts to manage that diversity, the importance of understanding how diversity affects workplace interactions and work-related outcomes increases. Little public-sector research has examined the impact of diversity on performance outcomes. This article seeks to fill this gap by studying the effects of the ethnic diversity of managers and street level public officials on work-related outcomes. We use basic in-group/out-group theories from psychology to formulate research questions relating diversity and performance, along with empirical research on the effects of diversity on work-related outcomes. We then use data from schools to test the relationship between ethnic diversity and organizational performance, identifying different impacts for managerial diversity and diversity among teachers. Results are consistent across three different models: manager diversity is routinely non-significant in predicting organizational performance, while teacher diversity has a consistently significant, and negative, impact on performance. These findings suggest that process-oriented problems are causing diverse organizations to experience drawbacks instead of gains, and that any benefit that could be drawn from a diversity of viewpoints is overshadowed by communication and collaboration problems.