This paper considers the causes of fiscal decentralization with a specific focus on the role of ethnic diversity. To do so, I employ an instrument for ethnic diversity based on the origin of anatomically modern human life. Using two measures of decentralization that capture decision making autonomy and accounting for the depth of divisions between ethno-linguistic groups using the structure of language trees, I find that ethnic diversity has a positive effect on the degree of decentralization. It is the amount of fractionalization towards the leaves of the trees, where groups are more numerous and less distinct, that drive decentralization.

中文翻译：

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解释财政分权和种族多样性的作用

本文考虑了财政分权的原因，特别关注种族多样性的作用。为此，我使用了一种基于解剖学现代人类生活起源的种族多样性工具。使用两种权力下放措施，即使用语言树的结构捕获决策自主权并解释民族语言群体之间的分歧深度，我发现种族多样性对权力下放程度有积极影响。正是对树叶的细分化程度，在这些树叶中，群体数量更多，差异性更小，从而推动了权力下放。