IDEAS home Printed from https://ideas.repec.org/a/eee/jcecon/v53y2025i3p643-666.html
   My bibliography  Save this article

The impact of birthplace diversity on prosociality: Ingroups versus outgroups

Author

Listed:
  • Zhang, Zhijian
  • Ding, Yuli
  • Wu, Shu

Abstract

How does immigration shape prosociality? This study investigates the impact of birthplace diversity on households’ private provision of financial support to different social groups in China. Linking nationally representative surveys with prefectural socio-economic data and census information, we employ a shift-share instrumental variable approach alongside fixed effects to explore this relationship. Exposure to increased birthplace diversity leads to more households providing financial assistance to friends and strangers, but not to relatives. The favorable impacts stem primarily from within-group diversity and fractionalization, rather than from between-group diversity and polarization. Economic interdependence and broader inclusiveness, as opposed to social trust or outgroup threat, likely drive these effects. The observed effect is more pronounced among households with higher educational attainment, superior economic status, and in cities receiving fewer distant immigrants. Distinguishing dimensions of diversity and their contexts is crucial for understanding immigration’s social implications.

Suggested Citation

  • Zhang, Zhijian & Ding, Yuli & Wu, Shu, 2025. "The impact of birthplace diversity on prosociality: Ingroups versus outgroups," Journal of Comparative Economics, Elsevier, vol. 53(3), pages 643-666.
    • Handle: RePEc:eee:jcecon:v:53:y:2025:i:3:p:643-666
    DOI: 10.1016/j.jce.2025.04.005
    as

    Download full text from publisher

    File URL: http://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S0147596725000319
    Download Restriction: Full text for ScienceDirect subscribers only
    File URL: https://libkey.io/10.1016/j.jce.2025.04.005?utm_source=ideas
    LibKey link: if access is restricted and if your library uses this service, LibKey will redirect you to where you can use your library subscription to access this item
    ---><---

    As the access to this document is restricted, you may want to

    for a different version of it.

    References listed on IDEAS

    as
    1. José G. Montalvo & Marta Reynal-Querol, 2005. "Ethnic Polarization, Potential Conflict, and Civil Wars," American Economic Review, American Economic Association, vol. 95(3), pages 796-816, June.
    2. Frédéric Docquier & Riccardo Turati & Jérôme Valette & Chrysovalantis Vasilakis, 2020. "Birthplace diversity and economic growth: evidence from the US states in the Post-World War II period [Cultural diversity and economic growth: evidence from the US during the age of mass migration]," Journal of Economic Geography, Oxford University Press, vol. 20(2), pages 321-354.
    3. Alberto Alesina & Caterina Gennaioli & Stefania Lovo, 2019. "Public Goods and Ethnic Diversity: Evidence from Deforestation in Indonesia," Economica, London School of Economics and Political Science, vol. 86(341), pages 32-66, January.
    4. Joseph Henrich, 2001. "In Search of Homo Economicus: Behavioral Experiments in 15 Small-Scale Societies," American Economic Review, American Economic Association, vol. 91(2), pages 73-78, May.
    5. Alberto Alesina & Johann Harnoss & Hillel Rapoport, 2016. "Birthplace diversity and economic prosperity," Journal of Economic Growth, Springer, vol. 21(2), pages 101-138, June.
    6. Cáceres-Delpiano, Julio & De Moragas, Antoni-Italo & Facchini, Gabriel & González, Ignacio, 2021. "Intergroup contact and nation building: Evidence from military service in Spain," Journal of Public Economics, Elsevier, vol. 201(C).
    7. Oyebola Okunogbe, 2024. "Does Exposure to Other Ethnic Regions Promote National Integration? Evidence from Nigeria," American Economic Journal: Applied Economics, American Economic Association, vol. 16(1), pages 157-192, January.
    8. Logan, Trevon D. & Parman, John M., 2017. "The National Rise in Residential Segregation," The Journal of Economic History, Cambridge University Press, vol. 77(1), pages 127-170, March.
    9. Gordon B Dahl & Andreas Kotsadam & Dan-Olof Rooth, 2021. "Does Integration Change Gender Attitudes? The Effect of Randomly Assigning Women to Traditionally Male Teams," The Quarterly Journal of Economics, President and Fellows of Harvard College, vol. 136(2), pages 987-1030.
    10. Kirill Borusyak & Peter Hull & Xavier Jaravel, 2022. "Quasi-Experimental Shift-Share Research Designs," The Review of Economic Studies, Review of Economic Studies Ltd, vol. 89(1), pages 181-213.
    11. Andrés Rodríguez-Pose & Viola Berlepsch, 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, Springer;European Association for Population Studies, vol. 35(5), pages 873-911, December.
    12. Burns, Justine & Keswell, Malcolm, 2015. "Diversity and the provision of public goods: Experimental evidence from South Africa," Journal of Economic Behavior & Organization, Elsevier, vol. 118(C), pages 110-122.
    13. Yann Algan & Camille Hémet & David D. Laitin, 2016. "The Social Effects of Ethnic Diversity at the Local Level: A Natural Experiment with Exogenous Residential Allocation," Journal of Political Economy, University of Chicago Press, vol. 124(3), pages 696-733.
    14. He, Weijun & Wang, Bo & Danish, & Wang, Zhaohua, 2018. "Will regional economic integration influence carbon dioxide marginal abatement costs? Evidence from Chinese panel data," Energy Economics, Elsevier, vol. 74(C), pages 263-274.
    15. Ceren Ozgen, 2021. "The economics of diversity: Innovation, productivity and the labour market," Journal of Economic Surveys, Wiley Blackwell, vol. 35(4), pages 1168-1216, September.
    16. Desmet, Klaus & Gomes, Joseph Flavian & Ortuño-Ortín, Ignacio, 2020. "The geography of linguistic diversity and the provision of public goods," Journal of Development Economics, Elsevier, vol. 143(C).
    17. Scott E. Carrell & Mark Hoekstra & James E. West, 2019. "The Impact of College Diversity on Behavior toward Minorities," American Economic Journal: Economic Policy, American Economic Association, vol. 11(4), pages 159-182, November.
    18. repec:hal:spmain:info:hdl:2441/4rm8ji0nae9elbggr366la3786 is not listed on IDEAS
    19. Thomas Kemeny & Abigail Cooke, 2018. "Spillovers from immigrant diversity in cities," Journal of Economic Geography, Oxford University Press, vol. 18(1), pages 213-245.
    20. Alberto Alesina & Reza Baqir & William Easterly, 1999. "Public Goods and Ethnic Divisions," The Quarterly Journal of Economics, President and Fellows of Harvard College, vol. 114(4), pages 1243-1284.
    21. Johanne Boisjoly & Greg J. Duncan & Michael Kremer & Dan M. Levy & Jacque Eccles, 2006. "Empathy or Antipathy? The Impact of Diversity," American Economic Review, American Economic Association, vol. 96(5), pages 1890-1905, December.
    22. Fabian Kosse & Thomas Deckers & Pia Pinger & Hannah Schildberg-Hörisch & Armin Falk, 2020. "The Formation of Prosociality: Causal Evidence on the Role of Social Environment," Journal of Political Economy, University of Chicago Press, vol. 128(2), pages 434-467.
    23. Rodrigo Ad~ao & Michal Koles'ar & Eduardo Morales, 2018. "Shift-Share Designs: Theory and Inference," Papers 1806.07928, arXiv.org, revised Aug 2019.
    24. Andreoni, James & Payne, A. Abigail & Smith, Justin & Karp, David, 2016. "Diversity and donations: The effect of religious and ethnic diversity on charitable giving," Journal of Economic Behavior & Organization, Elsevier, vol. 128(C), pages 47-58.
    25. Lei An & Yu Qin & Jing Wu & Wei You, 2024. "The Local Labor Market Effect of Relaxing Internal Migration Restrictions: Evidence from China," Journal of Labor Economics, University of Chicago Press, vol. 42(1), pages 161-200.
    26. Bahar, Dany & Rapoport, Hillel & Turati, Riccardo, 2022. "Birthplace diversity and economic complexity: Cross-country evidence," Research Policy, Elsevier, vol. 51(8).
    27. Gianmarco I.P. Ottaviano & Giovanni Peri, 2021. "The economic value of cultural diversity: evidence from US cities," World Scientific Book Chapters, in: Firms and Workers in a Globalized World Larger Markets, Tougher Competition, chapter 7, pages 187-222, World Scientific Publishing Co. Pte. Ltd..
    28. Card, David, 2001. "Immigrant Inflows, Native Outflows, and the Local Labor Market Impacts of Higher Immigration," Journal of Labor Economics, University of Chicago Press, vol. 19(1), pages 22-64, January.
    29. Yann Algan & Camille Hémet & David D. Laitin, 2016. "The Social Effects of Ethnic Diversity at the Local Level: A Natural Experiment with Exogenous Residential Allocation," Journal of Political Economy, University of Chicago Press, vol. 124(3), pages 696-733.
    30. Ke, Shanzi, 2015. "Domestic Market Integration and Regional Economic Growth—China’s Recent Experience from 1995–2011," World Development, Elsevier, vol. 66(C), pages 588-597.
    31. Jie Shen & Yang Xiao, 2020. "Emerging divided cities in China: Socioeconomic segregation in Shanghai, 2000–2010," Urban Studies, Urban Studies Journal Limited, vol. 57(6), pages 1338-1356, May.
    32. Bove, Vincenzo & Elia, Leandro, 2017. "Migration, Diversity, and Economic Growth," World Development, Elsevier, vol. 89(C), pages 227-239.
    33. Dominik Schraff & Ronja Sczepanski, 2022. "United or divided in diversity? The heterogeneous effects of ethnic diversity on European and national identities," European Union Politics, , vol. 23(2), pages 236-258, June.
    34. Samuel Bazzi & Arya Gaduh & Alexander D. Rothenberg & Maisy Wong, 2019. "Unity in Diversity? How Intergroup Contact Can Foster Nation Building," American Economic Review, American Economic Association, vol. 109(11), pages 3978-4025, November.
    35. Paul Goldsmith-Pinkham & Isaac Sorkin & Henry Swift, 2020. "Bartik Instruments: What, When, Why, and How," American Economic Review, American Economic Association, vol. 110(8), pages 2586-2624, August.
    36. Gautam Rao, 2019. "Familiarity Does Not Breed Contempt: Generosity, Discrimination, and Diversity in Delhi Schools," American Economic Review, American Economic Association, vol. 109(3), pages 774-809, March.
    37. Emilio Depetris-Chauvin & Ruben Durante & Filipe Campante, 2020. "Building Nations through Shared Experiences: Evidence from African Football," American Economic Review, American Economic Association, vol. 110(5), pages 1572-1602, May.
    38. repec:hal:spmain:info:hdl:2441/6lcb7ovms687vbos73r9r0is5g is not listed on IDEAS
    39. Hodler, Roland & Srisuma, Sorawoot & Vesperoni, Alberto & Zurlinden, Noémie, 2020. "Measuring ethnic stratification and its effect on trust in Africa," Journal of Development Economics, Elsevier, vol. 146(C).
    40. Finseraas, Henning & Hanson, Torbjørn & Johnsen, Åshild A. & Kotsadam, Andreas & Torsvik, Gaute, 2019. "Trust, ethnic diversity, and personal contact: A field experiment," Journal of Public Economics, Elsevier, vol. 173(C), pages 72-84.
    41. Delia Baldassarri, 2020. "Market integration accounts for local variation in generalized altruism in a nationwide lost-letter experiment," Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences, Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences, vol. 117(6), pages 2858-2863, February.
    42. Rodrigo Adão & Michal Kolesár & Eduardo Morales, 2019. "Shift-Share Designs: Theory and Inference," The Quarterly Journal of Economics, President and Fellows of Harvard College, vol. 134(4), pages 1949-2010.
    43. Jean-Louis Pan Ké Shon & Gregory Verdugo, 2015. "Forty years of immigrant segregation in France, 1968–2007. How different is the new immigration?," Urban Studies, Urban Studies Journal Limited, vol. 52(5), pages 823-840, April.
    44. Liu, Yuyun & Jiao, Yang & Xu, Xianxiang, 2020. "Promoting or preventing labor migration? Revisiting the role of language," China Economic Review, Elsevier, vol. 60(C).
    45. Hainmueller, Jens & Hiscox, Michael J., 2007. "Educated Preferences: Explaining Attitudes Toward Immigration in Europe," International Organization, Cambridge University Press, vol. 61(2), pages 399-442, April.
    46. Baldwin, Kate & Huber, John D., 2010. "Economic versus Cultural Differences: Forms of Ethnic Diversity and Public Goods Provision," American Political Science Review, Cambridge University Press, vol. 104(4), pages 644-662, November.
    47. Cutler, David M. & Glaeser, Edward L. & Vigdor, Jacob L., 2008. "When are ghettos bad? Lessons from immigrant segregation in the United States," Journal of Urban Economics, Elsevier, vol. 63(3), pages 759-774, May.
    48. Habyarimana, James & Humphreys, Macartan & Posner, Daniel N. & Weinstein, Jeremy M., 2007. "Why Does Ethnic Diversity Undermine Public Goods Provision?," American Political Science Review, Cambridge University Press, vol. 101(4), pages 709-725, November.
    49. Miguel R. Ramos & Matthew R. Bennett & Douglas S. Massey & Miles Hewstone, 2019. "Humans adapt to social diversity over time," Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences, Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences, vol. 116(25), pages 12244-12249, June.
    50. Giovanni Peri, 2016. "Immigrants, Productivity, and Labor Markets," Journal of Economic Perspectives, American Economic Association, vol. 30(4), pages 3-30, Fall.
    51. Zhao, Xiliang, 2020. "Migrants and urban wage: Evidence from China's internal migration," China Economic Review, Elsevier, vol. 61(C).
    52. Tabellini, Marco, 2020. "Gifts of the Immigrants, Woes of the Natives: Lessons from the Age of Mass Migration," CEPR Discussion Papers 14317, C.E.P.R. Discussion Papers.
    53. Alpaslan Akay & Amelie Constant & Corrado Giulietti & Martin Guzi, 2017. "Ethnic diversity and well-being," Journal of Population Economics, Springer;European Society for Population Economics, vol. 30(1), pages 265-306, January.
    54. Paluck, Elizabeth Levy & Green, Seth A. & Green, Donald P., 2019. "The contact hypothesis re-evaluated," Behavioural Public Policy, Cambridge University Press, vol. 3(2), pages 129-158, November.
    55. Jones, Daniel B. & Zhan, Crystal, 2020. "Ethnic diversity and citizens’ support for local public good provision: Evidence from California parcel tax elections," Journal of Economic Behavior & Organization, Elsevier, vol. 174(C), pages 108-130.
    56. Sturgis, Patrick & Brunton-Smith, Ian & Read, Sanna & Allum, Nick, 2011. "Does Ethnic Diversity Erode Trust? Putnam’s ‘Hunkering Down’ Thesis Reconsidered," British Journal of Political Science, Cambridge University Press, vol. 41(1), pages 57-82, January.
    57. Pan Ké Shon, Jean-Louis & Verdugo, Gregory, 2014. "Forty Years of Immigrant Segregation in France, 1968-2007: How Different Is the New Immigration?," IZA Discussion Papers 8062, Institute of Labor Economics (IZA).
    58. Brox, Enzo & Krieger, Tommy, 2022. "Birthplace diversity and team performance," Labour Economics, Elsevier, vol. 79(C).
    59. Zhang, Zhijian & Wang, Xueyuan, 2022. "Birthplace diversity and private giving: Evidence from China," China Economic Review, Elsevier, vol. 74(C).
    60. Bo Malmberg & Eva K. Andersson & Michael M. Nielsen & Karen Haandrikman, 2018. "Residential Segregation of European and Non-European Migrants in Sweden: 1990–2012," European Journal of Population, Springer;European Association for Population Studies, vol. 34(2), pages 169-193, May.
    61. Robinson, Amanda Lea, 2020. "Ethnic Diversity, Segregation and Ethnocentric Trust in Africa," British Journal of Political Science, Cambridge University Press, vol. 50(1), pages 217-239, January.
    62. Yann Algan & Camille Hémet & David D. Laitin, 2016. "The Social Effects of Ethnic Diversity at the Local Level: A Natural Experiment with Exogenous Residential Allocation," Journal of Political Economy, University of Chicago Press, vol. 124(3), pages 696-733.
    63. Alexander Tatarko & Tomas Jurcik, 2021. "Migrant Integration Policies, Perceived Group Threat and Generalized trust: a Case of European Countries," Journal of International Migration and Integration, Springer, vol. 22(2), pages 705-727, June.
    64. Han, Jun & Li, Shi, 2017. "Internal migration and external benefit: The impact of labor migration on the wage structure in urban China," China Economic Review, Elsevier, vol. 46(C), pages 67-86.
    65. Vasiliki Fouka & Soumyajit Mazumder & Marco Tabellini, 2022. "From Immigrants to Americans: Race and Assimilation during the Great Migration," The Review of Economic Studies, Review of Economic Studies Ltd, vol. 89(2), pages 811-842.
    66. Miguel, Edward & Gugerty, Mary Kay, 2005. "Ethnic diversity, social sanctions, and public goods in Kenya," Journal of Public Economics, Elsevier, vol. 89(11-12), pages 2325-2368, December.
    67. repec:hal:pseose:hal-01304131 is not listed on IDEAS
    68. Matt Lowe, 2021. "Types of Contact: A Field Experiment on Collaborative and Adversarial Caste Integration," American Economic Review, American Economic Association, vol. 111(6), pages 1807-1844, June.
    69. Marco Tabellini, 2020. "Gifts of the Immigrants, Woes of the Natives: Lessons from the Age of Mass Migration," The Review of Economic Studies, Review of Economic Studies Ltd, vol. 87(1), pages 454-486.
    70. José Garcia Montalvo & Marta Reynal-Querol, 2004. "Ethnic polarization, potential conflict and civil wars," Economics Working Papers 770, Department of Economics and Business, Universitat Pompeu Fabra, revised Mar 2005.
    Full references (including those not matched with items on IDEAS)

    Most related items

    These are the items that most often cite the same works as this one and are cited by the same works as this one.
    1. Yasmine Elkhateeb & Riccardo Turati & Jérôme Valette, 2025. "Immigration, Identity Choices, and Cultural Diversity," Working Papers 2025-18, CEPII research center.
    2. Adam Levai & Riccardo Turati, 2021. "The Impact of Immigration on Workers’ Protection," LIDAM Discussion Papers IRES 2021021, Université catholique de Louvain, Institut de Recherches Economiques et Sociales (IRES), revised 07 Sep 2021.
    3. Francesco Campo & Mariapia Mendola & Andrea Morrison & Gianmarco Ottaviano, 2022. "Talents and Cultures: Immigrant Inventors and Ethnic Diversity in the Age of Mass Migration," Journal of the European Economic Association, European Economic Association, vol. 20(5), pages 1971-2012.
    4. Alvaro Calderon & Vasiliki Fouka & Marco Tabellini, 2021. "Racial Diversity and Racial Policy Preferences: The Great Migration and Civil Rights," RFBerlin Discussion Paper Series 2133, ROCKWOOL Foundation Berlin (RFBerlin).
    5. Calderon, Alvaro & Fouka, Vasiliki & Tabellini, Marco, 2021. "Racial Diversity and Racial Policy Preferences: The Great Migration and Civil Rights," IZA Discussion Papers 14488, Institute of Labor Economics (IZA).
    6. Fremerey, Melinda & Hörnig, Lukas & Schaffner, Sandra, 2024. "Becoming neighbors with refugees and voting for the far-right? The impact of refugee inflows at the small-scale level," Labour Economics, Elsevier, vol. 86(C).
    7. Adam Levai & Riccardo Turati, 2025. "International immigration and labor regulation," Scandinavian Journal of Economics, Wiley Blackwell, vol. 127(4), pages 809-851, October.
    8. Alberto Alesina & Marco Tabellini, 2024. "The Political Effects of Immigration: Culture or Economics?," Journal of Economic Literature, American Economic Association, vol. 62(1), pages 5-46, March.
    9. Cáceres-Delpiano, Julio & De Moragas, Antoni-Italo & Facchini, Gabriel & González, Ignacio, 2021. "Intergroup contact and nation building: Evidence from military service in Spain," Journal of Public Economics, Elsevier, vol. 201(C).
    10. Carlo Medici, 2024. "Closing Ranks: Organized Labor and Immigration," CESifo Working Paper Series 11437, CESifo.
    11. Pascal Achard & Sigrid Suetens, 2023. "The causal effect of ethnic diversity on support for redistribution and the role of discrimination," Journal of Economic Surveys, Wiley Blackwell, vol. 37(5), pages 1678-1696, December.
    12. Francesco Campo & Mariapia Mendola & Andrea Morrison & Gianmarco Ottaviano, "undated". "Immigrant Inventors and Diversity in the Age of Mass Migration," Development Working Papers 464, Centro Studi Luca d'Agliano, University of Milano.
    13. Gagnon, Nickolas, 2024. "On your own side of the fence," Journal of Economic Behavior & Organization, Elsevier, vol. 226(C).
    14. Zhang, Zhijian & Wang, Xueyuan, 2022. "Birthplace diversity and private giving: Evidence from China," China Economic Review, Elsevier, vol. 74(C).
    15. Olivier Bargain & Victor Stephane & Jérôme Valette, 2022. "Another brick in the wall. Immigration and electoral preferences: Direct evidence from state ballots," Review of International Economics, Wiley Blackwell, vol. 30(5), pages 1452-1477, November.
    16. Hémet, Camille & Wren-Lewis, Liam & Mahoney, Jessica, 2023. "Decentralization, Ethnic Fractionalization, and Public Services: Evidence from Kenyan Healthcare," SocArXiv em3js, Center for Open Science.
    17. Orefice, Gianluca & Rapoport, Hillel & Santoni, Gianluca, 2025. "How Do Immigrants Promote Exports?," Journal of Development Economics, Elsevier, vol. 174(C).
    18. Gershman, Boris & Rivera, Diego, 2018. "Subnational diversity in Sub-Saharan Africa: Insights from a new dataset," Journal of Development Economics, Elsevier, vol. 133(C), pages 231-263.
    19. Joseph Flavian Gomes, 2020. "The health costs of ethnic distance: evidence from sub-Saharan Africa," Journal of Economic Growth, Springer, vol. 25(2), pages 195-226, June.
    20. Jones, Daniel B. & Zhan, Crystal, 2020. "Ethnic diversity and citizens’ support for local public good provision: Evidence from California parcel tax elections," Journal of Economic Behavior & Organization, Elsevier, vol. 174(C), pages 108-130.

    More about this item

    Keywords

    ;
    ;
    ;
    ;
    ;
    ;
    ;
    ;
    ;
    ;

    JEL classification:

    • J15 - Labor and Demographic Economics - - Demographic Economics - - - Economics of Minorities, Races, Indigenous Peoples, and Immigrants; Non-labor Discrimination
    • D64 - Microeconomics - - Welfare Economics - - - Altruism; Philanthropy; Intergenerational Transfers
    • R23 - Urban, Rural, Regional, Real Estate, and Transportation Economics - - Household Analysis - - - Regional Migration; Regional Labor Markets; Population
    • O15 - Economic Development, Innovation, Technological Change, and Growth - - Economic Development - - - Economic Development: Human Resources; Human Development; Income Distribution; Migration
    • H41 - Public Economics - - Publicly Provided Goods - - - Public Goods

    Statistics

    Access and download statistics

    Corrections

    All material on this site has been provided by the respective publishers and authors. You can help correct errors and omissions. When requesting a correction, please mention this item's handle: RePEc:eee:jcecon:v:53:y:2025:i:3:p:643-666. See general information about how to correct material in RePEc.

    If you have authored this item and are not yet registered with RePEc, we encourage you to do it here. This allows to link your profile to this item. It also allows you to accept potential citations to this item that we are uncertain about.

    If CitEc recognized a bibliographic reference but did not link an item in RePEc to it, you can help with this form .

    If you know of missing items citing this one, you can help us creating those links by adding the relevant references in the same way as above, for each refering item. If you are a registered author of this item, you may also want to check the "citations" tab in your RePEc Author Service profile, as there may be some citations waiting for confirmation.

    For technical questions regarding this item, or to correct its authors, title, abstract, bibliographic or download information, contact: Catherine Liu (email available below). General contact details of provider: http://www.elsevier.com/locate/inca/622864 .

    Please note that corrections may take a couple of weeks to filter through the various RePEc services.

    IDEAS is a RePEc service. RePEc uses bibliographic data supplied by the respective publishers.