I-Dollar EYI One!1–Ethnolinguistic Fractionalisation, Communication Networks and Economic Participation–Lessons from Cape Town, South Africa
利用南非开普敦的专门调查数据和人类学田野调查，研究民族语言分裂如何通过碎片化的沟通网络影响劳动力市场和非正规创业活动，揭示语言作为经济生活解释变量的重要性，并讨论政策含义。
Abstract The relationship between ethnolinguistic fractionalisation and development has long been of interest to economists and linguists. While econometric analyses have shown relatively stable interactions between high levels of fractionalisation and low indices of development, the mechanisms underlying this relationship are still unclear. This paper explores the importance of fragmented versus unified communication networks for socio-economic development, using data from Cape Town, South Africa. Like other cities in low- and middle-income countries, Cape Town shows growing linguistic diversity due to high levels of rural–urban migration. Two aspects of the city's economy will be discussed on the basis of specialised survey data and anthropological fieldwork: (a) the labour market, and (b) informal entrepreneurial activities. The analysis shows the importance of language as an explanatory variable in the study of economic life, and allows us to advance our understanding of human and social capital formation in ethnolinguistically fragmented societies. In the conclusion the authors discuss the policy implications of the study.