Seminar in Empirical Microeconomics - Bite and Divide: Malaria and Ethnolinguistic Diversity
Time
Thursday, 30. June 2022
13:30 - 15:00
Location
online
Organizer
Junior Professorship in Labour Economics
Speaker:
Elena Esposito (HEC University of Lausanne)
Bite and Divide: Malaria and Ethnolinguistic Diversity
with Matteo Cervellati and Giorgio Chiovelli
Abstract: We study the role of malaria for the emergence and the persistence of ethnic diversity. A Malthusian framework predicts that the separation of humans into geographically partitioned groups enforcing behavioral isolation limited disease incidence in populations exposed to malaria. Using disaggregate data, we find that malaria increases historical ethnic diversity in Africa. Ancestral exposure to malaria still affects the differential persistence of ethnicities through its legacy of in-group cultures and ethnic endogamy. The results shed light on the debate over the determinants of comparative development by identifying the long-lasting impact of malaria on African population diversity and its ethnic cultures.