The ability of the poor to act collectively plays an important role on whether democracies are more likely to reduce poverty than non-democracies. This paper suggests that ethnic divisions of the poor could explain why some democracies fail to improve poverty outcomes. That is, higher ethnic divisions of the poor reduce the likelihood that they will collectively act and pressure their government to benefit them. The hypothesis is tested through a series of cross-country regressions. The paper expands on previous literature by focusing on the impact of ethnic divisions on poverty through political institutions rather than growth, conflict, or public goods. Moreover, multidimensional measures such as cross-cutting cleavages were included, whereas most previous literature used only one-dimensional measures such as the Ethno-Linguistic Fractionalization and Ethnic Polarization variables. Results suggest that democracy is less likely to improve poverty outcomes when the poor are ethnically divided.
