Who gets public goods? Effects of ethnic diversity and exclusion on urban and rural populations' access to water and sanitation

Why do some countries provide better access to life‐saving public goods than others? An enduring explanation from the political economy literature points to ethnic heterogeneity in impeding public goods provision. However, previous studies have not examined how the “diversity deficit” directly affects access to improved water and sanitation, a leading cause of continued under‐5 mortality globally, and how this effect varies for urban versus rural communities. Using cross‐sectional time series analysis of 149 low and middle‐income countries between 1990 and 2013, this study explores the relationship between national ethnic diversity and ethnic‐based political exclusion, and rural and urban populations’ access to water and sanitation. We find that ethnic diversity rather than ethnic exclusion predicts lower access to water and sanitation, although more so for rural populations, and that this relationship may be the most pronounced in South Asia and sub‐Saharan Africa. This suggests that the negative impact of diversity rooted in coordination problems may be rooted at the national level for goods that require both long‐term investment and ongoing resources. Our findings provide a more nuanced understanding of how national‐level ethnic diversity can exert divergent effects on the provision of public goods to rural versus urban populations, while also highlighting regional variation. 摘要 为什么有些国家比其他国家在拯救生命的公共产品方面提供更好的获取机会？政治经济学文献的一个经久不衰的解释指出，族群异质性阻碍了公共产品的提供。不过，以往研究并未分析“多样性赤字”如何直接影响获取“改善的水和卫生设施”（这是全球5岁以下儿童持续死亡的主要原因），以及这种影响在城市和农村社区之间有何不同。通过对1990年至2013年间149个低收入和中等收入国家进行横断面时间序列分析，本研究探究了国家族群多样性和基于族群的政治排斥，与农村和城市人口在水和卫生设施方面的获取之间的关系。我们发现，族群多样性（而非族群排斥）预示着更低的水和卫生设施获取机会，尽管在农村地区更是如此，并且该关系在南亚和撒哈拉以南非洲地区可能最为明显。这表明，根植于协调问题的多样性的负面影响有可能根植于公共产品的国家层面，这种公共产品需要长期的投资和持续的资源。就国家层面的族群多样性如何能对农村和城市人口的公共产品获取产生不同影响一事，我们的研究发现提供了更细致的理解，同时也强调了区域差异。 Resumen ¿Por qué algunos países brindan un mejor acceso a los bienes públicos que salvan vidas que otros? Una explicación perdurable de la literatura de economía política apunta a la heterogeneidad étnica que impide la provisión de bienes públicos. Sin embargo, estudios anteriores no han examinado cómo el "déficit de diversidad" afecta directamente el acceso a agua y saneamiento mejorados, una de las principales causas de la mortalidad continua de menores de 5 años en todo el mundo, y cómo este efecto varía entre las comunidades urbanas y rurales. Utilizando un análisis transversal de series temporales de 149 países de ingresos bajos y medios entre 19