ABSTRACT
This chapter attempts to unearth the reasons why ethnic diversity might be associated with declines in social cohesion, by conducting a quantitative review of the empirical evidence on the topic and comparing the explanatory power of competing statistical measures of ethnic diversity, have generated novel insights. In contrast to the provision of public goods and trust-related sentiments, for example, there is little evidence that the behavioural dimension of social cohesion, in terms of civic engagement, is related to ethnic diversity. Negative effects of ethnic diversity on trust and cooperation are assumed to be caused by mutual out-group biases and perceptions of threat across ethnic groups or by overall population characteristics such as linguistic and preference pluralism that affect people irrespective of their ethnic background. In this sense, theories of ethnic diversity effects are different from studies of anti-immigrant prejudice and stereotyping, which assume, or at least empirically focus on, one-sided rejection or mistrust of minorities by the native majority population.
