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Book part
Publication date: 28 December 2018

John A. Bishop, Haiyong Liu and Juan Gabriel Rodríguez

There are conflicting views of the primary role of income inequality in economic development. Many expect that higher income shares at the top reflect substantial economic…

Abstract

There are conflicting views of the primary role of income inequality in economic development. Many expect that higher income shares at the top reflect substantial economic contributions while others think that these increases in top shares have not translated into higher economic growth. Recently, this debate has been reinvigorated by a new proposal: higher income inequality could hurt economic performance by decreasing future intergenerational mobility. We contribute to this debate by examining the relationship between intergenerational perceived job status mobility and past income inequality. We find a robust negative association of lagged income inequality with upward intergenerational job status mobility and a robust positive association of lagged income inequality with downward intergenerational job status mobility. In addition, we find that the quality of political institutions and religious fractionalization both contribute positively to job status mobility. Higher levels of past Gross Domestic Product (GDP) result in less upward job status mobility and more downward job status mobility.

Article
Publication date: 30 April 2021

Hamid Yeganeh

This study aims to analyze the effects of religion on gender equality at the national level.

Abstract

Purpose

This study aims to analyze the effects of religion on gender equality at the national level.

Design/methodology/approach

The study distinguishes between the concepts of religiosity and religious affiliation and introduces a measure of religious diversity. The study defines religiosity and gender equality as multidimensional concepts and relies on a wide range of secondary data from credible sources such as the World Value Survey, the United Nations, Gender Gap Report and the World Economic Forum to analyze the effect of religious factors on gender equality in more than 70 countries.

Findings

The analyses show that after controlling for the effects of socio-economic development, religiosity tends to impede gender equality. It is found that Muslim and Hinduism affiliations are negatively and Protestant affiliation is positively associated with gender equality. Furthermore, Catholicism and Eastern Orthodox affiliations and religious diversity do not significantly affect gender equality.

Originality/value

At the theoretical level, this study distinguishes between religious affiliations and religiosity and relies on the modernization theory to offer valuable insights into the relationship between religion and gender equality. This study's findings could serve managers and policymakers in dealing with gender disparities in different spheres of social life at the practical level.

Details

International Journal of Sociology and Social Policy, vol. 42 no. 5/6
Type: Research Article
ISSN: 0144-333X

Keywords

Article
Publication date: 1 September 2007

Cassandra E. DiRienzo, Jayoti Das and John Burbridge

In today's global economy, a country's level of competitiveness has emerged as an important policy tool for business leaders and the impact of many economic and institutional…

Abstract

Purpose

In today's global economy, a country's level of competitiveness has emerged as an important policy tool for business leaders and the impact of many economic and institutional “hard” factors on competitiveness have been studied. The purpose of this paper is to examine the impact that diversity, a “soft” factor, has on a country's level of competitiveness.

Design/methodology/approach

Using a sample of 102 countries, a multiple regression analysis is performed in which the relationship between a country's competitiveness, as proxied by the global competitiveness index, and diversity, as proxied by ethnic, linguistic, and religious diversity, are tested while controlling for other factors known to affect competitiveness. Further, a cluster analysis is performed in an effort to illuminate global patterns in competitiveness.

Findings

The results indicate that greater levels of ethnic diversity negatively and significantly affect a country's competitiveness, but greater levels of linguistic diversity positively and significantly affect competitiveness while religious diversity has no effect.

Research limitations/implications

The reasons behind for the analysis results still need further research. For example, why do greater levels of linguistic diversity positively affect country competitiveness?

Practical implications

The IMF, World Bank, and other investors of capital need to understand whether diversity will help or hinder aid and loan programs and corporations need to consider diversity when conducting global business and foreign investment.

Originality/value

This study is the first to examine the relationship between diversity and country‐level competitiveness and has value to global business managers and investors.

Details

Competitiveness Review: An International Business Journal, vol. 17 no. 3
Type: Research Article
ISSN: 1059-5422

Keywords

Article
Publication date: 27 July 2012

Oguzhan C. Dincer and Peter J. Lambert

The purpose of this paper is to investigate the relationships between measures of ethnic and religious heterogeneity on the one hand and measures of inequality and redistribution…

Abstract

Purpose

The purpose of this paper is to investigate the relationships between measures of ethnic and religious heterogeneity on the one hand and measures of inequality and redistribution on the other, using state‐level US data.

Design/methodology/approach

The relationship between ethnic/religious heterogeneity and inequality/redistribution is estimated, first, with ordinary least squares (OLS) and then with generalized method of moments (GMM). The principal explanatory variables for inequality and redistribution in the study are ethnic and religious polarization and fractionalization measures.

Findings

It is found that inequality is positively associated with polarization and has an inverse‐U relationship with fractionalization. These findings are bolstered by findings of indirect effects of ethnic and religious heterogeneity on inequality through their influence on welfare programs.

Originality/value

This is the first paper investigating the magnitude of possible direct and indirect effects of ethnic and religious heterogeneity on income inequality using US data.

Abstract

Details

Explaining Growth in the Middle East
Type: Book
ISBN: 978-0-44452-240-5

Article
Publication date: 1 January 2006

Benhua Yang

Using a sample of 86 countries over the 1960–1999 period, this paper investigates the differential growth effects of ethnic division across cultural regions. While the evidence…

Abstract

Using a sample of 86 countries over the 1960–1999 period, this paper investigates the differential growth effects of ethnic division across cultural regions. While the evidence supports a negative relationship between ethnic fragmentation and economic growth, this relationship is significant only for Africa and Latin America. This study also uses a religious measure of ethnic fragmentation, and finds that religious diversity has a positive impact on growth. This impact, however, is present only in the Middle East and East Asia. Some possible reasons behind the heterogeneous effects of ethnic diversity are also explored.

Details

International Journal of Development Issues, vol. 5 no. 1
Type: Research Article
ISSN: 1446-8956

Book part
Publication date: 2 March 2021

Christopher J. Cyr and Michael Widmeier

We examine why some groups use violence while others use nonviolence when they push for major political change. Nonviolence can be less costly, but nonstate actors must mobilize a…

Abstract

We examine why some groups use violence while others use nonviolence when they push for major political change. Nonviolence can be less costly, but nonstate actors must mobilize a large number of people for it to be successful. This is less critical for violent rebellion, as successful attacks can be committed by a small number of people. This means that groups that believe that they have the potential to mobilize larger numbers of people are less likely to use violence. This potential is related to the lines along which the group mobilizes. Campaigns mobilized along ethnic or Marxist lines have fewer potential members and are most likely to use violence. Prodemocracy campaigns have a higher number of potential members and are more likely to use nonviolence. For movements against a foreign occupation, campaigns in larger countries are more likely to use nonviolence. These predictions are supported in a multilevel logit model of campaigns from 1945 to 2006. The mechanism is tested by looking at the interactive effect of democratic changes on the likelihood of nonviolence and looking at a subsample of 72 campaigns that explicitly draw from certain ethnic or religious groups.

Details

Power and Protest
Type: Book
ISBN: 978-1-83909-834-5

Keywords

Content available
Book part
Publication date: 8 May 2019

Abstract

Details

African Economic Development
Type: Book
ISBN: 978-1-78743-784-5

Article
Publication date: 8 July 2019

Abdulkareem Alhassan and Abdulhakeem Abdullahi Kilishi

The primacy of institutions for economic progress has been established in the literature. Yet, less research attention is paid to the existence and persistence of weak economic…

Abstract

Purpose

The primacy of institutions for economic progress has been established in the literature. Yet, less research attention is paid to the existence and persistence of weak economic institutions in Africa. Thus, the purpose of this paper is to empirically explore the determinants of the quality of economic institutions in Africa.

Design/methodology/approach

Hausman–Taylor instrumental variable estimator of panel regression was employed for a sample of 43 Sub-Sahara African countries over the period 1995–2017.

Findings

The study finds that the existence and persistence of weak economic institutions in Africa is more of design than destiny. That is, weak economic institutions are created and sustained more by bad political institutions rather than cultural diversity and geographical factors. Therefore, strong political institutions need to be entrenched to reverse the equilibrium of weak economic institutions and dismal economic performance in the continent.

Practical implications

The study provides deep understanding of the determinants of economic institutions. This is imperative for policy makers, development agencies and stakeholders in designing viable economic policies and programs for the continent.

Originality/value

The novelty of the study is rooted in the examination of the factors responsible for the development and persistence of weak economic institutions in Africa. The idea is original because previous studies focus on political institutions and neglected economic institutions.

Details

International Journal of Social Economics, vol. 46 no. 7
Type: Research Article
ISSN: 0306-8293

Keywords

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