Heterogeneous effect of ethnic networks on international trade of Thailand: The role of family ties and ethnic diversity

Ethnic networks have been found to have a pro-trade effect in previous research. However, the heterogeneous effect of different ethnicities is under-studied. Drawing on the literature on social structure, this paper attempts to untangle the heterogeneous effect of ethnic networks on international trade using trade data of Thailand. We found that ethnic networks have a positive impact overall on trade, confirming the results of previous studies. However, the magnitude of the positive effect varies across different ethnicities along two dimensions. First, the strength of family ties in the culture of origin accelerates the pro-trade effect of its ethnic networks, suggesting ethnicities with stronger family ties have a cultural preference for trading within their own ethnic community. In comparison, ethnic diversity weakens the positive effect of ethnic networks on trade, suggesting an informational value of diverse ethnic structure in promoting trade between different ethnicities. Our study contributes new evidence of the enduring influence of social and cultural attributes on economic activities

Divide and Rule or the Rule of the Divided? Evidence from Africa

We investigate jointly the importance of contemporary country-level institutional structures and local ethnicity-specific pre-colonial institutions in shaping comparative regional development in Africa. We utilize information on the spatial distribution of African ethnicities before colonization and exploit within ethnicity (across countries) and within-country (across ethnicities) regional variation in economic performance, as proxied by satellite light density at night. The fact that political boundaries across the African landscape partitioned ethnic groups in different countries, thus subjecting identical cultures to different country-level institutions, offers a regression discontinuity framework. After identifying the partitioned ethnicities we document a positive cross-sectional association between national institutions and regional economic development. However, our ethnicity fixed-effects specifications show that differences in countrywide institutional arrangements do not explain differences in regional economic performance within ethnic groups. In contrast, we document that local ethnic traits proxied by tribal pre-colonial political institutions and class stratification exert even today a significant effect on regional development. The positive within country effect of pre-colonial institutions also obtains in regions of partitioned ethnicities along the national boundaries.Africa, Borders, Ethnicities, Development, Institutions

Nationwide Study of Breast Cancer Risk Factors in Latinas

Breast cancer is the most common cancer among American women. Any woman can be affected by breast cancer, with risk for the disease increasing with age. Risk for breast cancer is also exacerbated in women who have certain genetic alterations. Mutations in the BRCA1 and BRCA2 genes predispose women to breast and ovarian cancer, and are increasingly recognized in prostate and pancreatic cancers (1-3). In Caucasian and Asian ethnicities BRCA mutations are associated with basal-type/triple-negative disease. However this association between BRCA gene mutations and basal/triple-negative disease has been understudied in other ethnicities (4-6). The incidence and mortality of breast cancer of Hispanics and Native Americans are lower than other ethnicities; however they are underrepresented in epidemiological and clinical studies. Further, it is known that common recurrent mutations in BRCA1 and BRCA2 genes exist in Hispanic/Latino communities which account for 35-45% of mutation carriers (7, 8). The objective of our study is thus to investigate triple negative disease and BRCA gene mutations in Hispanic women

Nationwide Study of Breast Cancer Risk Factors in Latinas

Breast cancer is the most common cancer among American women. Any woman can be affected by breast cancer, with risk for the disease increasing with age. Risk for breast cancer is also exacerbated in women who have certain genetic alterations. Mutations in the BRCA1 and BRCA2 genes predispose women to breast and ovarian cancer, and are increasingly recognized in prostate and pancreatic cancers (1-3). In Caucasian and Asian ethnicities BRCA mutations are associated with basal-type/triple-negative disease. However this association between BRCA gene mutations and basal/triple-negative disease has been understudied in other ethnicities (4-6). The incidence and mortality of breast cancer of Hispanics and Native Americans are lower than other ethnicities; however they are underrepresented in epidemiological and clinical studies. Further, it is known that common recurrent mutations in BRCA1 and BRCA2 genes exist in Hispanic/Latino communities which account for 35-45% of mutation carriers (7, 8). The objective of our study is thus to investigate triple-negative disease and BRCA gene mutations in Hispanic women

The Origins of Ethnolinguistic Diversity: Theory and Evidence

This research examines theoretically and empirically the economic origins of ethnolinguistic diversity. The empirical analysis constructs detailed data on the distribution of land qualtiy and elevation across contiguous regions, virtual and real countries, and shows that variation in elevation and land quality has contributed significantly to the emergence and persistence of ethnic fractionalization. The empirical and historical evidence support the theoretical analysis, according to which heterogenous land endowments generated region specific human capital, liminting population mobility and leading to the formation of localized ethnicities and languages. The research contributes to the understanding of the emergence of ethnicities and languages. The research contributes to the understanding of the emergence of ethnicities and their spatial distribution and offers a distinction between the natural, georgraphically driven, versus the artificial, man-made, components of contemporary ethnic diversity.Ethnic Diversity, Geography, Technological Process, Human Capital, Colonization.

A City Transformed: The Racial and Ethnic Changes in Philadelphia Over the Last 20 Years

Based on census data, analyzes changes in the racial/ethnic composition and geographic distribution of the city's population between 1990 and 2010. Details changes by zip code, neighborhood, and subgroups within races/ethnicities

Ethnicities of sound

Abstract Ethnicities of Sound is a commentary on a folio of four sets of musical works by Stephen Lalor which comprise the Doctoral submission in Composition. The six movements of the Suite for Solo Mandolin embrace a cross-cultural and pan-historical approach to exploring the unique tonal features of the mandolin, presenting an alternative view on writing for the instrument. The Suite for Solo Plectrum Guitar is a set of six movements specifically written for concert performance on unamplified plectrum guitar (as opposed to ‘classical’ or finger style guitar). It similarly embraces a cross-cultural and pan-historical approach exploiting the use of the plectrum. Quincerto for Mandola and String Quartet is a contribution to the repertoire of the mandola (octave mandolin), which is a rarely heard instrument in a formal concert setting. Quincerto explores the mandola’s timbral qualities, which are deeper and richer (with more of a visceral essence) than those of the mandolin, often employing techniques and gestures drawn from Balkan and middle-Eastern plucked string instrument performance traditions. Troika for Cimbalom, Cello and Plectrum Guitar, a set of three movements, is the first concert piece specifically composed for this combination of instruments, and explores the rich possibilities and challenges inherent in composing for an ensemble of hammered, plectrum and bowed string instruments. The composition of these works has been concerned with creating an innovative body of work for plectrum-played stringed instruments, reviving ancient techniques and exploring new ones drawn from diverse traditions

Marrying Out: One-in-Seven New U.S. Marriages Is Interracial or Interethnic

Examines trends in and attitudes toward marriages between different races/ethnicities since 1980, including rates of intermarriage by race/ethnicity, gender, region, education, and age. Considers factors behind the trends, including immigration patterns

Women at Greater Risk of Economic Insecurity: A Gender Analysis of the Rockefeller Foundation's American Worker Survey

Analyzes survey data for differences in anxiety over and experiences of economic insecurity between women and men, workers and non-workers, and parents and non-parents, as well as among women of different races/ethnicities, incomes, and education levels