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on Evolutionary Economics |
| By: | Oded Galor (Department of Economics, Brown University); Stelios Michalopoulos (Tufts University and the Institute for Advanced Study) |
| Abstract: | This research suggests that the evolution of entrepreneurial spirit played a significant role in the process of economic development and the dynamics of inequality within and across societies. The study argues that entrepreneurial spirit evolved non-monotonically in the course of human history. In early stages of development, risk-tolerant, growth promoting traits generated an evolutionary advantage and their increased representation accelerated the pace of technological progress and the process of economic development. In mature stages of development, however, risk-averse traits gained an evolutionary advantage, diminishing the growth potential of advanced economies and contributing to convergence in economic growth across countries. |
| Keywords: | Risk Aversion, Growth, Technological Progress, Evolution, Natural Selection |
| JEL: | O11 O14 O33 O40 J11 J13 |
| Date: | 2011–04 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:ads:wpaper:0098&r=evo |
| By: | Leonardo Becchetti (University of Rome Tor Vergata); Pierluigi Conzo (University of Rome Tor Vergata & EIEF); Alessandro Romeo (University of Rome Tor Vergata & World Bank) |
| Abstract: | We test with a randomized experiment in the slums of Nairobi whether violence suffered during the 2007 political outbreaks affects trustworthiness learning when participants live group experiences and face opportunism and free riding in public good games (PGGs) between two subsequent trust games (TGs). Our findings document that participants move toward balanced reciprocity after the PGG with the exception of those who have experienced directly or indirectly physical violence and/or forced relocation who exhibit significantly less trustworthiness in the second TG round. Results are robust to several robustness checks controlling for selection into victimization. Since in a framework of asymmetric information and incomplete contracts, trust games mimic sequential economic exchanges whose functioning is crucial to economic growth, we argue that our results identify a microeconomic nexus among socio-political instability, violence and growth helping to solve identification problems of the cross-country literature on the subject. |
| Keywords: | trust games, public good games, randomized experiment, social capital, socioeconomic instability and development. |
| JEL: | O12 C93 Z13 |
| Date: | 2011 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:inq:inqwps:ecineq2011-197&r=evo |
| By: | Nakamoto, Yasuhiro; Sato, Masayuki |
| Abstract: | We examine how physical abilities affect individuals' preferences. In particular, by incorporating social comparison into prospect theory, we directly estimate the degree of loss aversion from social comparison, a concept we term `ALJ' (\textit{Avoiding Loss relative to the Joneses}). Our main findings are as follows: (i) the participants who choose the physical education as the best subject exhibit a greater degree of ALJ than others; (ii) physical fitness influences the degree of ALJ; (iii) gender influences social comparison preferences; (iv) participants with a greater degree of ALJ do not respond to voluntary questionnaire; (v) the form of participants' ALJ is affected by the voluntary behavior of their parents. A comparison of ALJ with loss aversion in the original prospect theory reveals that they have different characteristics. |
| Keywords: | Loss aversion; Risk aversion; Social Comparison; Physical fitness; Voluntary participation |
| JEL: | D12 C90 C93 |
| Date: | 2011–06–01 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:pra:mprapa:31221&r=evo |
| By: | Luigi Mittone; Matteo Ploner |
| Abstract: | We investigate strategic choices of individuals working for social cooperatives in Italy. Specifically, a 2-players Prisoner’s Dilemma is administered as an attachment to a nationwide survey of nonprofit organizations. We experimentally manipulate social proximity of the participants and efficiency of cooperation. We show that higher efficiency of cooperation has a significant positive impact on the cooperation rate in the game, while closer social proximity does not significantly affect choices. In addition, a positive correlation between perceived organizational fairness and self–reported intrinsic motivation is identified in the sample under investigation. This finding provides stimulating insights on the interplay between organizational features and workers’ motivational factors. |
| Keywords: | Cooperation, Field Experiments, Social Dilemmas, Nonprofit Organizations |
| Date: | 2011 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:trn:utwpce:1101&r=evo |
| By: | John Engle; Jim Engle-Warnick; Sonia Laszlo |
| Abstract: | We present an experiment in which we test for the effect of participating in a social exchange exercise on revealed risk and ambiguity preferences. In our experiments, subjects make choices over lotteries that reveal their risk and ambiguity preferences. They then participate with a small group in an unstructured on-line chat. After the chat, they reconsider their choices in the risk and ambiguity instruments. In a control session, different subjects view, but do not participate in, past chats. Through a content analysis we investigate the role of chat content and chat participation on changes in revealed preferences. We compare our results to the “Discovered Preferences Hypothesis” (Plott, 1996) and “Fact-Free Learning” (Aragones, Gilboa, Postlewaite, and Schmeidler, 2005). <P>Nous présentons une expérience en laboratoire dans laquelle nous testons l'effet de participer à un exercice d'échange social sur l'aversion au risque et à l'ambiguïté. Dans notre expérience, les participants jouent à une loterie où ils révèlent leurs préférences face au risque et à l'ambiguïté. Ils participent ensuite à une discussion de groupe déstructurée dans une salle de causette. Après la discussion, les participants peuvent reconsidérer leurs choix dans les instruments de risque et d'ambiguïté. Cependant, dans une session contrôle, d'autres participants observent, sans y participer, une discussion d'une session antérieure. Une analyse de contenu nous informe sur le rôle du contenu de la discussion et de la participation elle-même sur le changement des préférences révélées. Nous comparons nos résultats aux hypothèses de « Discovered Preferences » (Plott, 1996) et de « Fact-Free Learning » (Aragones, Gilboa, Postlewaite, and Schmeidler, 2005). |
| Keywords: | Risk and ambiguity preference measurement instruments, experimental economics, development economics, participatory development; social learning., Instruments de mesure de la préférence vis-à-vis le risque et l'ambiguïté, économie expérimentale, développement économique, développement participatif, apprentissage social |
| Date: | 2011–05–01 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:cir:cirwor:2011s-46&r=evo |
| By: | Alesina, Alberto F; Giuliano, Paola; Nunn, Nathan |
| Abstract: | This paper seeks to better understand the historical origins of current differences in norms and beliefs about the appropriate role of women in society. We test the hypothesis that traditional agricultural practices influenced the historical gender division of labor and the evolution and persistence of gender norms. We find that, consistent with existing hypotheses, the descendants of societies that traditionally practiced plough agriculture, today have lower rates of female participation in the workplace, in politics, and in entrepreneurial activities, as well as a greater prevalence of attitudes favoring gender inequality. We identify the causal impact of traditional plough use by exploiting variation in the historical geo-climatic suitability of the environment for growing crops that differentially benefited from the adoption of the plough. Our IV estimates, based on this variation, support the findings from OLS. To isolate the importance of cultural transmission as a mechanism, we examine female labor force participation of second-generation immigrants living within the US. |
| Keywords: | beliefs; Culture; gender roles.; values |
| JEL: | J16 N30 |
| Date: | 2011–06 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:cpr:ceprdp:8418&r=evo |