Does Diversity Impair Human Development? A Multi-Level Test of the Diversity Debit Hypothesis

This study departs from extant work on diversity and development in several respects. Using DHS data from a large number of developing countries, we adopt four human development outcomes: child mortality, fertility, education, and wealth. We exploit evidence at multiple levels—country, subnational region, and district—and we measure diversity in a variety of ways. This unique approach reveals that although diversity may have negative ramifications on human development at national levels it is very unlikely to have these same effects at subnational levels.