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on Evolutionary Economics |
| By: | Newton, Jonathan |
| Abstract: | Differing degrees of assortativity in matching can be expected to have both genetic and cultural determinants. When assortativity is subject to evolution, the main result of of Alger and Weibull (2013) on the evolution of stable otherregarding preferences does not hold. Instead, both non-Nash and Pareto inefficient behavior are evolutionarily unstable. |
| Keywords: | evolution, moral values, assortative matchingCreation-Date: 2014-10 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:syd:wpaper:2014-14&r=evo |
| By: | Andra Filote (Department of Economics, University of Konstanz, Germany); Niklas Potrafke (ifo Institute, Ifo Center for Public Finance and Political Economy, Munich, Germany); Heinrich Ursprung (Department of Economics, University of Konstanz, Germany) |
| Abstract: | Many experts claim that the incidence of suicide attacks is driven by religious cleavages. To test this hypothesis, we investigate whether the total number of suicide attacks per violent conflict or the annual number of suicide attacks per country is associated with simmering religious conflicts. We distinguish between two kinds of religious cleavages: cleavages at the macro level between the stake holders in violent conflicts and cleavages at the micro or battle field level between the actual perpetrators and victims of suicide attacks. Our results do not indicate that religious cleavages are an important precondition for the incidence of suicide attacks. |
| Keywords: | suicide terrorism, religion, religious cleavages, club goods |
| JEL: | Z12 D74 H56 F51 |
| Date: | 2015–01–12 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:knz:dpteco:1501&r=evo |
| By: | Nijkamp, Peter (VU University Amsterdam); Poot, Jacques (University of Waikato) |
| Abstract: | Cultural diversity – in various forms – has in recent years turned into a prominent and relevant research and policy issue. There is an avalanche of studies across many disciplines that measure and analyse cultural diversity and its impacts. Based on different perspectives and features of the available data, a great variety of diversity indicators have emerged. The present paper aims to highlight some critical issues involved in applying such measures of cultural diversity. A selection of commonly used or recently advocated measures are reviewed. Measures of population diversity can be calculated at different spatial scales and used to analyse spatio-temporal heterogeneity. Additionally, there is a growing interest in measuring spatial dependence, particularly in the form of segregation or clusters. We conclude that there will be in the future considerable scope for adopting multidimensional and cultural distance-weighted measures of diversity. Such measures will be increasingly calculated by means of rich geo-referenced longitudinal micro data. However, adopted measures must be better motivated by behavioural theories. Further research on the determinants and impacts of observed measures of diversity is also likely to be fruitful, particularly in a dynamical setting. |
| Keywords: | diversity, dissimilarity measurement, ethnicity, culture, segregation, polarization, fractionalization |
| JEL: | C00 D63 J15 R23 Z13 |
| Date: | 2015–01 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:iza:izadps:dp8782&r=evo |