Culture, Community and Segregation

We use economic theory to examine the possible outcomes facing a culturally diverse population. We ask which cultures emerge and persist and what happens to social cohesion. We find three possible outcomes for a community: assimilation, where the community integrates and one group conforms to the culture of another; segregation, where groups socially segregate and retain their own culture; and multiculturalism, where groups integrate but individuals still retain their own culture. We further show that new cultures can emerge in diverse communities: multiculturalism requires a shared culture to develop alongside diverse cultures, while segregation can result in further differentiation of culture.