Economics
The Influence of Ethnic Fractionalization on Civil War Onset
Quick fact
In a landmark 2003 study, Fearon and Laitin found that ethnic fractionalization was not a significant predictor of civil war onset, whereas per capita income and political instability were.
Why this is interesting
If a country is more ethnically diverse, you’d expect more civil wars – but the data show the opposite. How can that be?