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on Evolutionary Economics |
| By: | Felipe Valencia Caicedo (University of British Columbia, Vancouver School of Economics, IZA and CEPR); Thomas Dohmen (University of Bonn, IZA Institute of Labor Economics, and Maastricht University); Andreas Pondorfer (Technical University of Munich, TUM School of Management and TUMCS for Biotechnology and Sustainability) |
| Abstract: | Social science research has stressed the important role of religion in sustaining cooperation among non-kin. We contribute to this literature with a large-scale empirical study documenting the relationship between religion and cooperation. We analyze newly available, experimentally validated, and globally representative data on social preferences and world religions (Christianity, Islam, Hinduism, Buddhism and Judaism). We find that individuals who report believing in such religions also exhibit more prosocial preferences, as measured by their levels of positive reciprocity, altruism and trust. We further document heterogeneous patterns of negative reciprocity and punishment—two key elements for cooperation—across world religions. The association between religion and prosocial preferences is stronger in more populous societies and weaker in countries with better institutions. The interactive results between these variables point again towards the substitutability between religious and secular institutions, when it comes to sustaining cooperation. |
| Keywords: | Religion, prosociality, human cooperation, population, institutions |
| JEL: | D90 P35 Z12 |
| Date: | 2023–03 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:ajk:ajkdps:226&r=evo |
| By: | Claude Diebolt (BETA/CNRS & University of StrasbourgAuthor-Name: Nadir Altinok; University of Wisconsin-La Crosse) |
| Date: | 2023 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:afc:wpaper:05-23&r=evo |
| By: | Palaash Bhargava (Columbia University); Daniel L. Chen (Toulouse School of Economics); Matthias Sutter (Max-Planck Institute for Research on Collective Goods Bonn, University of Cologne and University of Innsbruck IZA Bonn, CESifoMunich); Camille Terrier (Queen Mary University London) |
| Abstract: | Social networks are segmented on gender, ethnicity, and other demographic characteristics. We present evidence on an understudied source of homophily: behavioral traits. Based on unique data from incentivized experiments with more than 2, 500 French high-school students, we find high levels of homophily across ten behavioral traits. Notably, homophily depends on similarities in demographic characteristics, in particular gender. Using network econometrics, we show that homophily is not only an outcome of endogenous network formation, but also driven by peer effects. The latter are larger when students share demographic characteristics, have longer periods of friendship, or are friends with more popular individuals. |
| Keywords: | Homophily, social networks, behavioral traits, peer effects, experiments |
| JEL: | D85 C91 D01 D90 |
| Date: | 2023–04 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:ajk:ajkdps:227&r=evo |
| By: | Benjamin Enke; Thomas Graeber; Ryan Oprea |
| Abstract: | We provide experimental evidence that core intertemporal choice anomalies -- including extreme short-run impatience, structural estimates of present bias, hyperbolicity and transitivity violations -- are driven by complexity rather than time or risk preferences. First, all anomalies also arise in structurally similar atemporal decision problems involving valuation of iteratively discounted (but immediately paid) rewards. These computational errors are strongly predictive of intertemporal decisions. Second, intertemporal choice anomalies are highly correlated with indices of complexity responses including cognitive uncertainty and choice inconsistency. We show that model misspecification resulting from ignoring behavioral responses to complexity severely inflates structural estimates of present bias. |
| JEL: | D03 |
| Date: | 2023–03 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:nbr:nberwo:31047&r=evo |