Cooperation Dynamics in a Multiethnic Society

The importance of ethnic diversity in determining social outcomes and reducing generalized cooperation is increasingly well documented. Theory suggests that cooperation in human groups may depend on reciprocal altruism and frequency of contact, yet these factors have not been linked with ethnic diversity. This study explores how fine-scale components of cooperation-social exclusivity and reciprocity-relate to broad-scale social conditions-ethnic diversity and ethnic stratification-in villages in Tamil Nadu's Palani hills. Both ethnic diversity and ethnic stratification are associated with declines in indirect reciprocity, although stratification has a larger effect. In addition, stratification is linked to increased social exclusivity. Moreover, measures of direct reciprocity in the form of agricultural labor exchanges are uncorrelated with both diversity and stratification. These results imply (1) that ethnic stratification is more detrimental to cooperation than is ethnic diversity, (2) that social exclusivity and ethnic stratification are mutually reinforcing, and (3) that direct reciprocity is more robust to cooperative failure across ethnic boundaries than is indirect reciprocity. These results confirm and extend current theory of human cooperative regimes and may be of value for community development in multiethnic settings

Demographic economics · Economics · Ethnic group · Geography · Reciprocity (cultural anthropology · Social science · Social stratification · Sociology · Anthropology · Culture, Economy, and Development Studies · Evolutionary Game Theory and Cooperation · Experimental Behavioral Economics Studies · Psychology · Social Psychology

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