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The effect of ethnic diversity on the participation in social groups: Evidence from trade unions

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  • Benos, Nikos
  • Kammas, Pantelis

Abstract

This paper advances the hypothesis that individuals in more ethnically fragmented societies, participate less in social groups. More precisely, the empirical analysis places the spotlight on trade unions and investigates whether ethnic diversity affects the decision of workers to participate in them. The analysis takes place along two layers: (a) country-level and (b) individual-level. First, building on a set of innovative instruments derived from the parasite-stress theory of values and sociality, our country-level analysis seeks to exploit exogenous sources of variation in ethnic diversity and establish a convincing causal relationship between ethnic diversity and trade union density across countries. In turn, we employ individual-level data from the European Social Survey (ESS) and investigate whether immigrants who cοme from more ethnically fragmented societies participate less in trade unions in their European countries of residence. Consistent with the prediction of the theory, both layers of the empirical analysis provide robust evidence of a negative, sizeable and highly significant effect of ethnic diversity on the participation in trade unions.

Suggested Citation

  • Benos, Nikos & Kammas, Pantelis, 2023. "The effect of ethnic diversity on the participation in social groups: Evidence from trade unions," European Journal of Political Economy, Elsevier, vol. 77(C).
    • Handle: RePEc:eee:poleco:v:77:y:2023:i:c:s0176268022001215
    DOI: 10.1016/j.ejpoleco.2022.102318
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    2. Jirjahn, Uwe, 2025. "Unions and Collective Bargaining in Sub-Saharan Africa: Some Insights from Quantitative Studies," IZA Discussion Papers 17597, Institute of Labor Economics (IZA).

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    More about this item

    Keywords

    Trade unions; Ethnic diversity; Parasite-stress theory;
    All these keywords.

    JEL classification:

    • J51 - Labor and Demographic Economics - - Labor-Management Relations, Trade Unions, and Collective Bargaining - - - Trade Unions: Objectives, Structure, and Effects
    • J15 - Labor and Demographic Economics - - Demographic Economics - - - Economics of Minorities, Races, Indigenous Peoples, and Immigrants; Non-labor Discrimination
    • C21 - Mathematical and Quantitative Methods - - Single Equation Models; Single Variables - - - Cross-Sectional Models; Spatial Models; Treatment Effect Models
    • C26 - Mathematical and Quantitative Methods - - Single Equation Models; Single Variables - - - Instrumental Variables (IV) Estimation

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