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on Evolutionary Economics |
| By: | Giuliano, Paola (University of California, Los Angeles) |
| Abstract: | This chapter reviews the growing literature on the origin, persistence and evolution of cultural norms. I begin by examining the deep historical forces that shape the formation of cultural norms, with particular attention to the role of geography, pre-industrial societal characteristics, political institutions, and historical shocks. I then analyze the mechanisms through which cultural norms persist and evolve, emphasizing the roles of vertical, horizontal, and oblique transmission. Next, I examine the complex interaction between culture and institutions, and discuss the conditions under which cultural norms change. Several conclusions emerge. Cultural norms tend to persist over remarkably long periods, though the speed of change varies significantly across traits. Understanding the origins and persistence of cultural norms has important implications for policy: policies that ignore local cultural context risk failure or unintended consequences, while well-designed interventions can successfully shift norms. Finally, I discuss the growing evidence on cultural mismatches - situations where norms that were adaptive in historical environments become maladaptive in new contexts - and outline directions for future research. |
| Keywords: | cultural norms, cultural evolution, historical persistence |
| JEL: | Z1 P0 |
| Date: | 2026–04 |
| URL: | https://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:iza:izadps:dp18583 |
| By: | Pietro Biroli; Nicolau Martin-Bassols; Andries T. Marees; Hans van Kippersluis; Cornelius A. Rietveld; Pia Arce; Kevin Thom; Stephanie von Hinke; Jeremy Vollen; Titus Galama |
| Abstract: | The start of a human's life can be characterized by two lotteries: that of your genes (nature) and the family you were born into (nurture). These set in motion a trajectory, from birth onward, in health and human capital. Leveraging three longitudinal social-science data sets, we systematically analyze the relationship between an individual's genotype, the socioeconomic status (SES) of the families they grew up in, and their realized traits in adulthood. We proxy an individual's genetic predisposition by polygenic indexes (PGIs) and family SES by a latent factor of parental education and father's (former) occupational status. We then investigate how PGIs, parental SES, and their interaction contribute to later-life outcomes across a range of forty-five socioeconomic, anthropometric, health, behavioral, and personality traits. We find strong genetic and socioeconomic associations with these phenotypes, but no evidence of sizable gene-environment interactions. |
| Date: | 2026–04 |
| URL: | https://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:arx:papers:2604.25522 |