Ethnic Diversity in Russian Regions and Economic Growth: Theoretical Model and Its Approbation on Panel Data

Abstract—: The article examines the influence of ethno-linguistic diversity on the rate of economic growth in the regions of the Russian Federation. The empirical results obtained confirm that ethnic diversity supports economic growth and that elasticities of growth rates with respect to the initial level of diversity differ by region and time period and depend both on the indices of ethnolinguistic fractionalization themselves and on the initial level of per capita income in the region. From the standpoint of the theoretical model, it can be concluded that there is an optimal level of ethnic diversity, as well as that this level, determined by the parameters of the population’s tolerance towards representatives of other ethnic groups, as well as the share of rent in income, has not been achieved in any of the Russian regions. © 2022, Pleiades Publishing, Ltd.