This paper questions the line of reasoning followed by several authors, notably Easterly and Levine according to which ethno-linguistic fragmentation, because it leads to poor policies, is the main factor explaining the 'tragedy' of low African growth. A first set of criticism concerns the model...

The social science literature has done much to document pervasive racial discrimination in Brazil and there is little doubt that a very dark colour is a handicap to social advancement. Nevertheless, very few empirical economic studies have attempted to quantify the impact of ethnic...