This study briefly summarizes the major economic, sociological and anthropological theories on the relationship between ethnicity and economics, and examines how they can be applied to the economic situation of multi-ethnic Transylvania, and specifically the minority Hungarians, in its investigation. Following an institutionalist logic and a resource-based approach, two general questions are formulated, along separate paradigmatic trends: 1. How able is Romanian democracy and the development of its economic institutional system to exploit assets stemming from ethnic diversity? 2. What kind of cultural, structural and network resources do minority Hungarians possess, and to what extent and how do they succeed in utilizing them in the economy?
Keywords: ethnic diversity, economic development, ethnic Hungarians in Transylvania

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