Ethnic Diversity, Historical Economic Exchange, and Development: Evidence from Andean Peru
研究利用秘鲁殖民时期强制迁移的自然实验，发现历史上曾进行作物交换的族群多样性地区，当代经济表现更好，表明历史经济交流可缓解民族多样性的负面效应。
Is ethnic diversity good or bad for economic development? Most studies find corrosive effects. This paper shows that historical exposure to economic exchange can mitigate these effects in the long run. I collect data from a natural experiment of Peru's colonial history: the forced resettlement of native populations in the sixteenth century. Where the resettlement concentrated ethnically diverse populations with a history of internal crop exchange, contemporary populations perform better systematically. Additional evidence suggests that prior experience with mutually beneficial crop exchange shaped more open attitudes toward out-group members. Economic complementarities helped sustain long-run, market-oriented cooperation and local trade.