Michalopoulos Stelios
Department of Economics, Tufts University, Braker Hall, 8 Upper Campus Rd, Medford, MA 02155 and the Institute for Advanced Study, Princeton, NJ, 08540.
Am Econ Rev. 2012 Jun;102(4):1508-1539. doi: 10.1257/aer.102.4.1508.
This study explores the determinants of ethnolinguistic diversity within as well as across countries shedding light on its geographic origins. The empirical analysis conducted across countries, virtual countries and pairs of contiguous regions establishes that geographic variability, captured by variation in regional land quality and elevation, is a fundamental determinant of contemporary linguistic diversity. The findings are consistent with the proposed hypothesis that differences in land endowments gave rise to location-specific human capital, leading to the formation of localized ethnicities.
本研究探讨了国家内部以及不同国家间民族语言多样性的决定因素，并揭示了其地理起源。对各个国家、虚拟国家以及相邻地区对进行的实证分析表明，由区域土地质量和海拔变化所体现的地理差异是当代语言多样性的一个基本决定因素。这些发现与所提出的假设一致，即土地禀赋的差异产生了特定地点的人力资本，从而导致了地方化种族的形成。
