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This paper analyzes the relationship between ethnic fractionalization, polarization, and con‡ict. In recent years many authors have found empirical evidence that ethnic fractionalization has a negative e¤ect on growth. One mechanism that can explain this nexus is the e¤ect of ethnic heterogeneity on rent-seeking activities and the increase in potential con ‡ict, which is negative for investment. However the empirical evidence supporting the e¤ect of ethnic fractionalization on the incidence of civil con ‡icts is very weak. Although ethnic fractionalization may be important for growth, we argue that the channel is not through an increase in potential ethnic con ‡ict. We discuss the appropriateness of indices of polarization to capture con ‡ictive dimensions. We develop a new measure of ethnic heterogeneity that satis…es the basic properties associated with the concept of polarization. The empirical section shows that this index of ethnic polarization is a signi…cant variable in the explanation of the incidence of civil wars. This result is robust to the presence of other indicators of ethnic heterogeneity, alternative sources of data for the construction of the indicators, and alternative data for civil wars.

The current structure of higher education in Spain was established in 1983 by the University Reform Act. This brought great change in the legal framework of Spanish universities, which, until then, had been regulated by the central authorities of the Ministry of Education, transforming them into autonomous bodies with a wide scope for self-government. The direct responsibility over universities was transferred from the central authorities to those of the autonomous regions. This process of devolution was only completed in 1997.Higher education in Spain consists almost exclusively of universities. In addition, an incipient vocational post-secondary education is being developed and there are also some Languages, Music and Military Schools outside the university system. There are 46 public universities and 16 private ones. Two are Open Universities, one is public (the UNED) and the other (Oberta de Catalunya) is formally private but is promoted by the regional Government of Catalonia. Six of the private universities are linked to the Catholic Church.Three universities focus on engineering (Polite Âcnicas of Madrid, Catalonia and Valencia), but most have a broad range of programmes ranging from engineering to humanities. There is not a strong differentiation, although some younger universities, many of which were created by the segregation of campuses of older ones and are located in smaller cities, focus on short-cycle programmes.There are three basic types of university programmes: short-cycle programmes, which are more vocationally oriented and last for three years (although some engineering programmes last for four years); long-cycle programmes, which last for four, five or six years, five being the most standard; and doctoral programmes, which add two years of course work and require the preparation of a research-oriented thesis following upon a long-cycle degree.After completing academic secondary education, students must pass an entrance exam if they wish to enter long-cycle university programmes and the short-cycle programmes in greatest demand. The main aim of this exam is to monitor standards of educational achievement in the secondary schools, both public and private, and give universities a criterion for allocating students to the different programmes according to the demand and the results of that exam (Mora, 1996). Yet access to higher education is quite open in Spain and there are no strict limits for staying enrolled in the programmes.

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The Policy Research Working Paper Series disseminates the findings of work in progress to encourage the exchange of ideas about development issues. An objective of the series is to get the findings out quickly, even if the presentations are less than fully polished.