This paper examines the effects of power sharing on vulnerability to adverse shocks in a multiethnic setting. Combining a unique dataset on the allocation of ministerial posts across ethnicities with the spatial distribution of Ebola, the author provides evidence that ethnic representation mitigated the transmission of Ebola in Guinea and Sierra Leone. The findings suggest that one percentage point increase in proportional cabinet shares reduced Ebola transmission by 5%, as reflected in the total number of confirmed cases. The paper also provide suggestive evidence that this relationship goes beyond a simple correlation and operates through public resource capture and trust in political institutions.

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