ABSTRACT
In cross-national research, some scholars suggest promising alternative ways to measure ethnic diversity statistically. These indices, such as culturally and economically weighted ethnic diversity, can be regarded as operationalizations of competing theoretical explanations. Testing the explanatory power of these competing indices against one another potentially answers the question why ethnic diversity is associated with declines in social cohesion. This chapter introduces ways to measure ethnic diversity statistically, and thereby give a better understanding of what diversity is. It investigates how far different theories about negative diversity effects can be tested against one another, by comparing the explanatory power of rival diversity indices. The chapter suggests developing indices that attempt to recognize such cultural differences between groups as indices of ethno-cultural diversity. In addition to groups and their population shares, as defined by the simple version of disparity, such indices rely on a complex version of disparity.
