Abstract
Social polarization refers to the widening of gap between specific subgroups of people in terms of their social circumstances and opportunities. The nature of relationships between high ethnic diversity and issues like social integration, public good provision, corruption, and growth has been explained in many significant contributions to the literature. This chapter studies social polarization using a rigorous axiomatic structure. Alternative indices, their analytical properties, and a social polarization ordering involving the population concentration curve are examined in details.
This is a preview of subscription content, log in via an institution to check access.
Access this chapter
Tax calculation will be finalised at checkout
Purchases are for personal use only
References
Alesina A, La Ferrara E (2000) Participation in heterogeneous communities. Q J Econ 115
Alesina A, La Ferrara E (2005) Ethnic diversity and economic performance. J Econ Lit 43
Alesina A, Baqir R, Easterly W (1999) Public goods and ethnic divisions. Q J Econ 114
Alesina A, Glaeser E, Sacerdote B (2001) Why doesn’t the United States have a European-style welfare state? Brook Pap Econ Act 2
Alesina A, Devleeschauwer A, Easterly W, Kurlat S, Wacziarg R (2003) Fractionalization. J Econ Growth 8
Alesina A, Easterly W, Matuszeski J (2011) Artificial states. J Eur Econ Assoc 9
Bossert W, D’Ambrosio C, La Ferrara E (2011) A generalized index of fractionalization. Economica 78
Braubaker R, Laitin DD (1998) Ethnic and nationalist violence. Annu Rev Sociol 24
Caselli F, Coleman II WJ ( 2006) On the theory of ethnic conflict. Working paper 12125. National Bureau of Economic Research, Cambridge
Chakravarty SR, Maharaj B (2011a) Subgroup decomposable inequality indices and reduced-form indices of polarization. Keio Econ Stud 47
Chakravarty SR, Maharaj B (2011b) Measuring ethnic polarization. Soc Choice Welf 37
Chakravarty SR, Maharaj B (2012) Ethnic polarization orderings and indices. J Econ Interac Coord 7
Collier P, Gunning W (2000) African trade liberalizations: alternative strategies for sustainable reform. In: Bevan DL, Collier P, Gemmell N, Greenaway D (eds) Trade and fiscal adjustment in Africa. Macmillan, London
Collier P, Hoeffler A (1998) On economic causes of civil war. Oxf Econ Pap 50
Collier P, Hoeffler A (2004) Greed and grievance in civil war. Oxf Econ Pap 56
Desmet K, Ortunoâ-Ortin I, Weber S (2008) Stability of nations and genetic diversity. Working paper 004-08, International School of Economics at TSU, Tbilisi, Republic of Georgia
Desmet K, Ortunoâ-Ortin I, Wacziarg R (2012) The political economy of ethnolinguistic cleavages. J Dev Econ 97
Dixit AK, Weibull JW (2007) Political polarization. doi:10.1073/pnas.0702071104
Do Q, Iyer L (2010) Geography, poverty and conflict in Nepal. J Peace Res 47
Duclos J-Y, Esteban J, Ray D (2004) Polarization: concepts, measurement, estimation. Econometrica 72
Easterly W, Levine R (1997) Africa’s growth tragedy: policies and ethnic divisions. Q J Econ 112
Esteban JM, Ray D (1994) On the measurement of polarization. Econometrica 62
Esteban JM, Ray D (1999) Conflict and distribution. J Econ Theory 87
Esteban JM, Ray D (2007) Polarization, fractionalization and conflict. J Peace Res 45
Esteban JM, Ray D (2008a) On the salience of ethnic conflict. Am Econ Rev 98
Esteban JM, Ray D (2008b) Polarization, fractionalization and conflict. J Peace Res 45:163–182
Esteban JM, Ray D (2011) Linking conflict to inequality and polarization. Am Econ Rev 101
Fearon JD (2003) Ethnic and cultural diversity by country. J Econ Growth 8
Grew R (1997) On seeking the cultural context of fundamentalism. In: Marty ME, Appleby RS (eds) Religion, ethnicity, and self identity: nations in turmoil. University Press of New England, Hanover
Harff B (2003) No lessons learned from holocaust? Assessing risks of genocide and political mass murder since 1955. Am Polit Sci Rev 97
Horowitz D (1985) Ethnic groups in conflict. University of California Press, Berkeley
Juergensmeyer M (1993) The new cold war? Religious nationalism confronts the secular state. University of California Press, Berkeley
La Porta R, Lopez de Silanes F, Shleifer A, Vishny R (1999) The quality of government. J Law Econ Organ, 15
Lacina BA (2006) Explaining the severity of civil wars. J Confl Resolut 50
Matuszeski J, Schneider F (2006) Patterns of ethnic group segregation and civil conflict. Working paper. Harvard University
Mauro P (1995) Corruption and growth. Q J Econ 110
McBride M, Richardson G (2012) Religion, conflict and cooperation. In: Garifinvel S (2012)
Montalvo JG, Reynal-Querol M (2005a) Ethnic polarization, potential conflict and civil wars. Am Econ Rev 95
Montalvo JG, Reynal-Querol M (2005b) Ethnic diversity and economic development. J Dev Econ 76
Montalvo JG, Reynal-Querol M (2008) Discrete polarization with an application to the determinants of genocides. Econ J 118
Permanyer I (2012) The conceptualization and measurement of social polarization. J Econ Inequal 10
Reynal-Querol M (2002) Ethnicity, political systems and civil wars. J Confl Resolut 46
Seul JR (1999) Ours is the way of god: religion, identity, and intergroup conflict. J Peace Res 36
Spolaore E, Wacziarg R (2013) War and relatedness. Nat Bureau Econ Res
Fearon JD, Laitin DD (2003) Ethnicity, insurgency and civil war. Am Political Sci Rev 97:75–90
Author information
Authors and Affiliations
Rights and permissions
Copyright information
© 2015 Springer India
About this chapter
Cite this chapter
Chakravarty, S.R. (2015). Social Polarization. In: Inequality, Polarization and Conflict. Economic Studies in Inequality, Social Exclusion and Well-Being, vol 12. Springer, New Delhi. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-81-322-2166-1_5
Download citation
DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/978-81-322-2166-1_5
Published:
Publisher Name: Springer, New Delhi
Print ISBN: 978-81-322-2165-4
Online ISBN: 978-81-322-2166-1
eBook Packages: Business and EconomicsEconomics and Finance (R0)