Participation in Heterogeneous Communities / Alberto Alesina, Eliana La Ferrara.

Format:

Book

Author/Creator:

Alesina, Alberto.

Contributor:

National Bureau of Economic Research.

La Ferrara, Eliana.

Series:

Working Paper Series (National Bureau of Economic Research) no. w7155.

NBER working paper series no. w7155

Language:

English

Subjects (All):

Exchange theory (Sociology).

Social groups--Mathematical models.

Social groups.

Physical Description:

1 online resource: illustrations (black and white);

Place of Publication:

Cambridge, Mass. National Bureau of Economic Research 1999.

Cambridge, Mass. : National Bureau of Economic Research, 1999.

Summary:

This paper studies both theoretically and empirically the determinants of group formation and of the degree of participation when the population is heterogeneous, both in terms of income and race or ethnicity. We are especially interested in whether and how much the degree of heterogeneity in communities influences the amount of participation in different types of groups. Using survey data on group membership and data on US localities, we find that, after controlling for many individual characteristics, participation in social activities is significantly lower in more unequal and in more racially or ethnically fragmented localities. We also find that those individuals who express views against racial mixing are less prone to participate in the groups the more racially heterogeneous their community is.

Notes:

Print version record

June 1999.