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However, the flipside is fragmentation — when citizens identify more strongly with a social group rather than the nation as a whole, potentially leading to conflict. Conflict itself erodes trust in institutions and encourages corruption.

Canada is among the most ethnically diverse, or fragmented, countries in the world (see accompanying table). Only Sub-Saharan African countries and some Latin American countries are more so. This fragmentation impacts voting behaviour. It can also bring civil strife.

Social scientists have noted how puzzling it is that at times people vote against their own evident economic interests. Poor people might sometimes vote for less wealth redistribution, and rich people for more. One thing that helps explain this is the concept of social identity: grouping people according to income, ethnic background, religion and language. National identity is one form of it.

What researchers have found is that voters who identify more strongly with the “nation” rather than their particular sub-group, are more cognizant of the country’s overall well-being. This has been supported by recent empirical studies looking at OECD countries and Belgium.

Social-identity theory has also led researchers to examine more carefully the impact of fragmentation on economic growth, quality of government institutions, centralization of political decision-making and conflict. Harvard political economist Alberto Alesina and his colleagues have painstakingly measured ethnic, religious and linguistic diversification for roughly 200 countries in the past two decades. Overall, the most fragmented societies were found to have lower growth in per capita GDP and poorer quality public institutions: fewer years of schooling, worse infrastructure, higher fiscal deficits, lower credit liquidity and higher black-market premiums.