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Is tolerance good or bad for growth?

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  • Niclas Berggren

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  • Mikael Elinder

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Abstract

We investigate how tolerance, as measured by attitudes toward different types of neighbors, affects economic growth in a sample of 54 countries. Unlike previous studies, by Richard Florida and others, we find that tolerance toward homosexuals is negatively related to growth. For tolerance toward people of a different race, we do not find robust results, but the sign of the estimated coefficients is positive, suggesting that inclusion of people irrespective of race makes good use of productive capacity. We propose mechanisms to explain these divergent findings, which clarify why different kinds of tolerance may be of different economic importance. Copyright Springer Science+Business Media, LLC 2012

Suggested Citation

  • Niclas Berggren & Mikael Elinder, 2012. "Is tolerance good or bad for growth?," Public Choice, Springer, vol. 150(1), pages 283-308, January.
    • Handle: RePEc:kap:pubcho:v:150:y:2012:i:1:p:283-308
    DOI: 10.1007/s11127-010-9702-x
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    Cited by:

    1. Niclas Berggren & Therese Nilsson, 2013. "Does Economic Freedom Foster Tolerance?," Kyklos, Wiley Blackwell, vol. 66(2), pages 177-207, May.
    2. repec:eee:ecolet:v:159:y:2017:i:c:p:10-14 is not listed on IDEAS
    3. Eduard Bomhoff & Grace Lee, 2012. "Tolerance and economic growth revisited: a note," Public Choice, Springer, vol. 153(3), pages 487-494, December.
    4. Berggren, Niclas & Nilsson, Therese, 2016. "Tolerance in the United States: Does economic freedom transform racial, religious, political and sexual attitudes?," European Journal of Political Economy, Elsevier, vol. 45(S), pages 53-70.
    5. repec:cup:jinsec:v:13:y:2017:i:03:p:575-598_00 is not listed on IDEAS
    6. repec:spr:eurasi:v:8:y:2018:i:1:d:10.1007_s40821-017-0086-4 is not listed on IDEAS
    7. Christian Bjørnskov & Pierre-Guillaume Méon, 2015. "The productivity of trust," Post-Print CEB, ULB -- Universite Libre de Bruxelles, June.
    8. Polterovich, Victor, 2017. "Толерантность, Сотрудничество И Экономический Рост
      [Tolerance, collaboration and economic growth]      ," MPRA Paper 81277, University Library of Munich, Germany.
    9. repec:bla:rdevec:v:21:y:2017:i:3:p:664-677 is not listed on IDEAS
    10. Pitlik, Hans & Rode, Martin, 2017. "Individualistic values, institutional trust, and interventionist attitudes," Journal of Institutional Economics, Cambridge University Press, vol. 13(03), pages 575-598, September.
    11. Berggren, Niclas & Nilsson, Therese, 2015. "Globalization and the transmission of social values: The case of tolerance," Journal of Comparative Economics, Elsevier, vol. 43(2), pages 371-389.
    12. Niclas Berggren & Mikael Elinder, 2012. "Tolerance and growth: modeling the empirical relationship," Public Choice, Springer, vol. 153(3), pages 495-502, December.
    13. B. Dima & Ş. M. Dima, 2016. "Income Distribution and Social Tolerance," Social Indicators Research: An International and Interdisciplinary Journal for Quality-of-Life Measurement, Springer, vol. 128(1), pages 439-466, August.
    14. repec:spr:anresc:v:59:y:2017:i:2:d:10.1007_s00168-017-0835-4 is not listed on IDEAS
    15. Richard Florida & Charlotta Mellander & Patrick Adler, 2011. "The Creative Class Paradigm," Chapters,in: Handbook of Creative Cities, chapter 3 Edward Elgar Publishing.

    More about this item

    Keywords

    Tolerance; Growth; Diversity; Human capital; Creativity; Innovation; O40; Z13;

    JEL classification:

    • O40 - Economic Development, Innovation, Technological Change, and Growth - - Economic Growth and Aggregate Productivity - - - General
    • Z13 - Other Special Topics - - Cultural Economics - - - Economic Sociology; Economic Anthropology; Language; Social and Economic Stratification

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