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on Evolutionary Economics |
| By: | Marcello D’Amato (University of Naples Federico II and CSEF, University Suor Orsola Benincasa); Francesco Flaviano Russo (University of Naples Federico II and CSEF) |
| Abstract: | We explore whether and how the similarity of pre-existing cultural traits between ethnic groups in the former colonies and colonizers contributes to explain the legacies of colonization. We find higher levels of income per capita, and a lower probability of a “Reversal of Fortunes”, in the territories where the local population had more similar oral traditions to the colonizers and where the dispersion of this folklore similarity was smaller. Exploring the mechanisms, we find that more oral tradition similarity, and less dispersion, are associated with more similar (de iure) constitutions established at independence, a higher frequency of a direct colonial rule, more conversions to Christianity and better education. |
| Keywords: | Colonial Relationship; Culture; Orality; Folklore Narratives; Historical Development |
| JEL: | J15 Z10 |
| Date: | 2026–03–25 |
| URL: | https://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:sef:csefwp:774 |
| By: | Anke Becker (Harvard Business School); Christina Borner (LMU Munich); Thomas Dohmen (University of Bonn); Armin Falk (University of Bonn); David Huffman (Cornell University); Uwe Sunde (LMU Munich) |
| Abstract: | A growing body of empirical research has developed measures of economic preferences related to risk taking and intertemporal choice. This research has documented pronounced heterogeneity in preferences across and within societies, and also provided evidence that these differences are culturally transmitted. This chapter discusses existing data sets that allow for a comparable measurement across the globe, takes stock of commonalities and differences in approaches, and presents an extended synthetic cross-country data set that combines information from existing data sets. The analysis then establishes various empirical regularities, such as broadly similar patterns of heterogeneity across the globe, revealed by the different datasets, but also some systematic divergences by measurement approach, and substantial correlations of economic preferences with country-aggregate and individual-level outcomes and traits. We also briefly discuss international data sets measuring social preferences, and end with an outlook on avenues for future research. |
| Keywords: | willingness to take risks; patience; |
| JEL: | D1 |
| Date: | 2026–03–31 |
| URL: | https://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:rco:dpaper:568 |
| By: | Kawauchi, Atsushi (Tohoku University) |
| Abstract: | Resilience research in disaster studies has advanced rapidly but faces a fundamental methodological problem: the absence of historical context. Criteria for judging resilience "success" vary across periods and regions, yet the risk of anachronism inherent in applying universal resilience models has been consistently overlooked. This paper presents the "Three-Layer Temporal Structure Theory of Disaster Social History, " drawing on Fernand Braudel's tripartite conception of historical time. The framework analyzes disaster phenomena through the mutually interpenetrating dynamics of geographic time (millennia), structural time (decades to centuries), and event-historical time (days to years), redefining "resilience" not as recovery capacity but as a process of "historical reconstruction" shaped by historical context. Through analysis of flood response history from the seventeenth century to the present in the Igu region of Miyagi Prefecture, three theoretical findings are derived. First, transitions in the structural time layer produce "transitional vulnerability, " in which existing resilience forms are dismantled before new ones emerge. Second, interactions among the three layers are bidirectional: events in lower layers can transform upper layers. Third, the recurrent invocation of "beyond all expectation" constitutes critical evidence that normative criteria for "normality" are historically constructed within the structural time layer. The framework provides an interdisciplinary analytical axis bridging the natural sciences and the humanities, while offering a critical historical perspective for contemporary disaster risk reduction policy. |
| Date: | 2026–04–10 |
| URL: | https://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:osf:socarx:dym8k_v1 |