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Is tolerance good or bad for growth?

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  • Niclas Berggren
  • Mikael Elinder

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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    More about this item

    Keywords

    Tolerance; Growth; Diversity; Human capital; Creativity; Innovation; O40; Z13;
    All these keywords.

    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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