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on Evolutionary Economics |
| By: | Fabio Mariani (UCL IRES - Institut de recherches économiques et sociales - UCL - Université Catholique de Louvain = Catholic University of Louvain); Marion Mercier (LEDa - Laboratoire d'Economie de Dauphine - IRD - Institut de Recherche pour le Développement - Université Paris Dauphine-PSL - PSL - Université Paris sciences et lettres - CNRS - Centre National de la Recherche Scientifique); Luca Pensieroso (UCL IRES - Institut de recherches économiques et sociales - UCL - Université Catholique de Louvain = Catholic University of Louvain) |
| Abstract: | This paper studies the interplay between left-handedness and economic development, thereby contributing to our understanding of the relationship between evolutionary forces, human diversity and growth. We propose a novel theoretical framework in which economic development influences the prevalence of left-handedness through structural change and a genetic mechanism driven by differential fertility. In particular, the emergence of the industrial sector puts left-handers at a reproductive disadvantage, because of their lower manual ability and wages. This fertility differential changes sign as soon as the income-fertility relationship is reversed, and eventually fades away when the rise of human capital makes manual skills irrelevant. Our model thus explains the decline and subsequent recovery of left-handedness observed over the last few centuries in the Western world. We further explore the possibility that left-handedness in turn influences growth: despite their lower productivity in manual tasks, left-handers may enhance technological progress through cognitive skills that are conducive to innovation, and through their contribution to the diversity of the workforce. This implies that the link between handedness and economic performance varies across stages of development. We present empirical evidence that lends credence to the core differential-fertility mechanism of our model and suggests that left-handedness can positively contribute to growth, once the economy has reached a sufficiently high level of human capital. |
| Keywords: | Handedness, Economic growth, Evolution, Diversity, Unified Growth Theory |
| Date: | 2022–08–20 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:hal:journl:hal-04360369&r=evo |
| By: | Eric Schniter (Chapman University); Mateo Peñaherrera-Aguirre (University of Arizona) |
| Abstract: | Phylogenetic studies of communication help us understand evolutionary changes that led to human language – a form of primate communication, extraordinarily complex in terms of its varied vocalizations. Here we describe the macro-evolutionary role of life history traits on primate vocalization systems, informing our understanding of the relationships between social complexity and primate vocal repertoire size. We reviewed the primatological literature and collected information on the vocal repertoire size, social conflict, group size, endocranial volume, and maximum longevity of 42 non-human primate species. We conducted a set of analyses to examine the role of these factors on the macroevolution of vocal repertoire size over the course of primate evolution. Overall, the results strongly suggest that the embodied capital needed to support larger vocal repertoires has been selected for among anthropoid primates, especially hominoids. Large vocal repertoires help species cope with challenges of within-group conflict and cooperation that increase where larger groups have evolved with longer lifespans. While monkeys and apes developed substantially greater vocal complexity during the Late Miocene and the Early Pliocene, human language likely did not emerge until quite late in the primate evolutionary timeline, subsequent to the evolution of early hominins. |
| Keywords: | vocal repertoire; primates; language; macroevolution; phylogenetic method |
| JEL: | B52 D83 Y8 |
| Date: | 2023 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:chu:wpaper:23-16&r=evo |
| By: | Morshed, Safya |
| Abstract: | This article summarizes my thesis, which studies the impact of conflicts on the Mughal South Asian state formation in the seventeenth century. This thesis examines the relationship between states, elites, and the peasantry in the face of changing conflict intensity. It uses newly collected conflict and state-personnel data to map the evolving structure of the state, arguing that the patterns indicate a localization of the state's administration. By comparing patterns to other large early modern land empires, the text reflects on our broader understanding of the way in which conflict affected changes in state institutions, and the evolving dynamics between core and periphery. |
| Keywords: | OUP deal |
| JEL: | N0 |
| Date: | 2023–12–13 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:ehl:lserod:120982&r=evo |
| By: | Roth, Felix |
| Abstract: | Using a unique international database on generalized trust - constructed from more than 1, 000 individual national surveys containing more than 1 million individual observations - covering 142 countries across the world for the 41-year time period from 1980 to 2020, this paper finds strong evidence that generalized trust at the country level is not stable over time. In fact, the paper finds a pronounced intertemporal variation of generalized trust over time in many countries across the globe. The paper's findings lend greater credibility to the theory of "experiential" trust over that of "cultural" trust, which leads the author to argue for using standard and dynamic panel estimation approaches in future analyses of generalized trust outcomes. |
| Keywords: | Generalized Trust, Intertemporal Variation, Stability, Panel Data, Causality |
| JEL: | C23 O47 O50 Z13 |
| Date: | 2024 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:zbw:uhhhdp:15&r=evo |