Did racial diversity improve the economic performance of New England whaling ships?

Metin Coşgel, Ph.D., Professor of Economics, University of Connecticut

This talk explores the complex relationship between racial diversity and team performance, drawing on extensive data from the American offshore whaling industry. Despite widespread promotion of workforce diversity by various organizations, empirical evidence supporting its positive effects on performance has been limited and inconclusive.

The American whaling industry, a significant economic force in coastal New England from colonial times through the early 20th century, provides a unique historical context for this analysis. Whaling crews were notably multiracial and highly diverse, offering a rich dataset for examining the impact of diversity on team outcomes.

Our study utilizes a comprehensive array of historical sources, including crew lists, American Offshore Whaling Logbook and Voyages databases, U.S. Federal Census enumeration schedules, Seamen’s Protection Certificate Database, and various records of Native American whalemen. The analysis reveals a U-shaped relationship between racial diversity and team performance, measured by whaling revenues. Initially, increased diversity led to a sharp decline in output value. However, at higher levels of racial heterogeneity, substantial gains were observed. This non-linear effect can be attributed to two opposing mechanisms. On one hand, more heterogeneous crews experienced a higher incidence of conflicts, negatively impacting performance. On the other hand, racial diversity positively influenced the whalemen’s creativity, enhancing their ability to strike and process whales. This research contributes to our understanding of diversity’s nuanced effects on team performance, offering historical insights that remain relevant in today’s diverse work environments.

Biography

Metin Coşgel is a professor of economics at the University of Connecticut, Storrs. His current research interests (https://metin-cosgel.scholar.uconn.edu/) include the performance impacts of ethnic and racial diversity in American offshore whaling industry, the adjustment of whalemen to diversity over time, and racial discrimination in the renumeration (lay) of whalemen. In addition, he has projects regarding the deep roots and economic consequences of the relationship between state and religion throughout history and the empirical analysis of the long-term evolution of Ottoman society from the economic choices, social networks, and intergenerational mobility of people.

 

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