Data and Code for: Cultural Distance and Ethnic Civil Conflict

Principal Investigator(s):  View help for Principal Investigator(s) Eleonora Guarnieri, University of Bristol

Version:  View help for Version V1

Name File Type Size Last Modified
  AMAR 11/30/2024 02:41:PM
  Afrobarometer 11/30/2024 02:42:PM
  Capitals 11/30/2024 02:42:PM
  Controls 11/30/2024 02:41:PM
  Conversion_Tables 11/30/2024 02:42:PM
  Ethnographic Atlas 11/30/2024 02:42:PM
  Ethnologue 11/30/2024 02:42:PM
  Fatalities 11/30/2024 02:42:PM
  Francois_Rainer_Trebbi 11/30/2024 02:42:PM
  GREG 11/30/2024 02:42:PM

Project Description

Summary:  View help for Summary
Ethnically diverse countries are more prone to conflict, but why do some groups engage in conflict while others do not? I show that civil conflict in Africa is explained by ethnic groups’ cultural distance to the central government: an increase in cultural distance, proxied by linguistic distance, increases an ethnicity’s propensity to fight over government power. To identify this effect, I leverage within-ethnicity variation in linguistic distance resulting from power transitions between ethnic groups over time. I provide evidence that the effects can be attributed to differences in preferences over both the allocation and the type of public goods.

Scope of Project

Subject Terms:  View help for Subject Terms Ethnic civil war; culture; linguistic distance; Africa; Bantu expansion
JEL Classification:  View help for JEL Classification
      D74 Conflict; Conflict Resolution; Alliances; Revolutions
      O55 Economywide Country Studies: Africa
      Z10 Cultural Economics; Economic Sociology; Economic Anthropology: General
Geographic Coverage:  View help for Geographic Coverage Africa
Data Type(s):  View help for Data Type(s) geographic information system (GIS) data; observational data; survey data

Methodology

Unit(s) of Observation:  View help for Unit(s) of Observation Ethnic groups, individuals

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Published Versions

V1 [2025-03-10]

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