In this overview piece, I review the literature and identify important directions for how developing societies can break out of such ethnic growth traps and instead leverage the gains that can often be had from ethnic diversity. To do this requires deepening our social science understanding of a number of key questions: the roots of ethnic divisions and mobilization, the strengthening of governance institutions and capacity, both formal and at the level of communities, and the understanding of individual level policies for mitigating polarization and conflict. I highlight directions for promising areas of research into policies for breaking out of the ethnic growth trap.