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on Evolutionary Economics |
| By: | Lu, Richard (?); Chatman, Jennifer A. (?); Goldberg, Amir (Stanford University); Srivastava, Sameer B. (?) |
| Abstract: | From the schoolyard to the boardroom, the pressures of cultural assimilation pervade all walks of social life. Why are some people more successful than others at cultural adjustment? Research on organizational culture has mostly focused on value congruence as the core dimension of cultural fit. We develop a complementary conceptualization of cognitive fit--perceptual accuracy, or the degree to which a person can decipher the group's cultural code. We demonstrate that the ability to read the cultural code, rather than identification with the code, matters for contemporaneous behavioral conformity. We further show that a person*s behavior and perceptual accuracy are both influenced by observations of others* behavior, whereas value congruence is less susceptible to peer influence. Drawing on email and survey data from a mid-sized technology firm, we use the tools of computational linguistics and machine learning to develop longitudinal measures of cognitive and behavioral cultural fit. We also take advantage of a reorganization that produced quasi-exogenous shifts in employees' interlocutors to identify the causal impact of peer influence. We discuss implications of these findings for research on cultural assimilation, the interplay of structure and culture, and the pairing of surveys with digital trace data. |
| Date: | 2018–05 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:ecl:stabus:3603&r=evo |
| By: | Jacques Melitz; Farid Toubal |
| Abstract: | Somatic distance, or differences in physical appearance, proves to be extremely important in the gravity model of bilateral trade in conformity with results in other areas of economics and outside in the social sciences. This is also true independently of survey evidence about bilateral trust. These findings are obtained in a sample of the 15 members of the European Economic Association in 1996. Robustness tests also show that somatic distance, as well as co-ancestry, has a more reliable influence on bilateral trade than the other cultural variables. The article finally discusses the interpretation and breadth of application of these results. |
| Keywords: | Somatic Distance;Cultural Interactions;Co-ancestry;Trust;Language;Bilateral Trade |
| JEL: | F10 F40 Z10 |
| Date: | 2018–09 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:cii:cepidt:2018-11&r=evo |
| By: | Jiaqi Liang; Linjing Li; Daniel Zeng |
| Abstract: | Cryptocurrency is a well-developed blockchain technology application that is currently a heated topic throughout the world. The public availability of transaction histories offers an opportunity to analyze and compare different cryptocurrencies. In this paper, we present a dynamic network analysis of three representative blockchain-based cryptocurrencies: Bitcoin, Ethereum, and Namecoin. By analyzing the accumulated network growth, we find that, unlike most other networks, these cryptocurrency networks do not always densify over time, and they are changing all the time with relatively low node and edge repetition ratios. Therefore, we then construct separate networks on a monthly basis, trace the changes of typical network characteristics (including degree distribution, degree assortativity, clustering coefficient, and the largest connected component) over time, and compare the three. We find that the degree distribution of these monthly transaction networks cannot be well fitted by the famous power-law distribution, at the same time, different currency still has different network properties, e.g., both Bitcoin and Ethereum networks are heavy-tailed with disassortative mixing, however, only the former can be treated as a small world. These network properties reflect the evolutionary characteristics and competitive power of these three cryptocurrencies and provide a foundation for future research. |
| Date: | 2018–08 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:arx:papers:1808.08585&r=evo |
| By: | Hammond, Peter J (Department of Economics,and CAGE (Competitive Advantage in the Global Economy), University of Warwick) |
| Abstract: | Whether an economic agent's decision creates an externality often depends on the institutional context in which the decision was made. Indeed, in orthodox economics, a technological or exogenous externality occurs just in case one agent's economic welfare or production possibilities are directly affected by the market decisions of other agents. A pecuniary externality occurs just in case one consumer's economic welfare or producer's profit is affected indirectly by price changes caused by changes in other agents' decisions. Similarly, an institutional or endogenous externality may arise whenever allocations are determined by a mechanism that is not strategyproof for some agent. Then even a resource balance constraint creates an institutional externality except in special cases such as when no individual agent's action can affect market clearing prices - i.e., there are no pecuniary externalities JEL classification numbers: D63 ; D70 ; D90 ; Q54 ; Q56 |
| Date: | 2018 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:wrk:wcreta:42&r=evo |
| By: | Brenøe, Anne Ardila (University of Zurich) |
| Abstract: | I examine how one central aspect of the childhood family environment – sibling gender composition – affects women's gender conformity, measured through their choice of occupation and partner. Using Danish administrative data, I causally estimate the effect of having a second-born brother relative to a sister for first-born women. The results show that women with a brother acquire more traditional gender norms with negative consequences for their labor earnings. I provide evidence of increased gender-specialized parenting in families with mixed-sex children, suggesting a stronger transmission of traditional gender norms. Finally, I find indications of persistent effects to the next generation of girls. |
| Keywords: | gender identity, sibling gender, occupational choice, family formation |
| JEL: | I2 J1 J3 |
| Date: | 2018–07 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:iza:izadps:dp11692&r=evo |
| By: | Jonathan Chapman; Mark Dean; Pietro Ortoleva; Erik Snowberg; Colin Camerer |
| Abstract: | We study the pattern of correlations across a large number of behavioral regularities, with the goal of creating an empirical basis for more comprehensive theories of decision-making. We elicit 21 behaviors using an incentivized survey on a representative sample (n=1,000) of the U.S. population. Our data show a clear and relatively simple structure underlying the correlations between these measures. Using principal components analysis, we reduce the 21 variables to six components corresponding to clear clusters of high correlations. We examine the relationship between these components, cognitive ability, and demographics, and discuss the theoretical implications of the structure we uncover and find a number of relations that partly confirm, but also add nuance, to previous findings. |
| JEL: | C90 D64 D81 D9 D90 |
| Date: | 2018–08 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:nbr:nberwo:24931&r=evo |