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on Evolutionary Economics |
| By: | Oded Galor; Marc Klemp; Daniel C. Wainstock |
| Abstract: | What gave rise to the mosaic of cultural expressions across the globe? Why are some societies more culturally diverse than others? This study develops a unified theory of cultural evolution, characterizing the forces that have governed this process over the course of human existence. The research advances the hypothesis that population movements and socioeconomic transformations generated a mismatch between inherited cultural traits and prevailing ecological and societal conditions, setting in motion an evolutionary process governed by adaptation-based vertical transmission, horizontal diffusion, and fitness-based evolutionary selection. The theory generates novel testable predictions concerning the origins of the global cultural mosaic and the cross-societal variation in cultural diversity. First, greater ecological distance between ancestral environments generated greater cultural distance across societies. Second, prehistoric differences in ancestral diversity contributed to divergent adaptive capacity and greater cultural distance. Third, societies descended from more diverse prehistoric populations exhibit greater cultural diversity despite convergence induced by adaptation to a common environment and societal norms. Drawing on measures of cultural distance and diversity derived from folkloric and musical traditions among ethnic groups, visual representations of common concepts, and the dispersion of norms, values, and attitudes, the empirical analysis lends credence to the predictions of the theory. |
| Keywords: | cultural diversity, adaptation, fitness, cultural evolution, vertical transmission, social norms |
| JEL: | O10 Z10 |
| Date: | 2026 |
| URL: | https://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:ces:ceswps:_12928 |
| By: | Giuliano, Paola; Spilimbergo, Antonio |
| Abstract: | A growing body of work has shown that aggregate shocks affect the formation of preferences and beliefs. This article reviews evidence from sociology, social psychology, and economics to assess the relevance of aggregate shocks, whether the period in which they are experienced matters, and whether they alter preferences and beliefs permanently. We review the literature on recessions, inflation experiences, trade shocks, and aggregate non-economic shocks including migrations, wars, terrorist attacks, pandemics, and natural disasters. For each aggregate shock, we discuss the main empirical methodologies, their limitations, and their comparability across studies, outlining possible mechanisms whenever available. A few conclusions emerge consistently across the reviewed papers. First, aggregate shocks impact many preferences and beliefs, including political preferences, risk attitudes, and trust in institutions. Second, the effect of shocks experienced during young adulthood is stronger and longer lasting. Third, negative aggregate economic shocks generally move preferences and beliefs to the right of the political spectrum, while the effects of non-economic adverse shocks are more heterogeneous and depend on the context. |
| Keywords: | Aggregate shocks; beliefs |
| JEL: | E00 P00 Z1 |
| Date: | 2024–07 |
| URL: | https://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:cpr:ceprdp:19218 |
| By: | Dieter F. Kogler; Keungoui Kim |
| Abstract: | Evolutionary Economic Geography (EEG) has become a central perspective within contemporary Economic Geography by explaining how regions, cities, industries, firms, technologies, and institutions evolve over historical time. This chapter introduces EEG’s intellectual foundations in evolutionary economics, Schumpeterian ideas of innovation and creative destruction, and geographical debates on uneven development, path dependence, and regional transformation. It reviews the field’s core conceptual contributions around history, novelty, complexity, emergence, and adaptability, and shows how these ideas have informed empirical research on related variety, regional branching, technological knowledge spaces, networks, resilience, path development, institutions, and policy. The chapter argues that EEG is best understood not as a closed paradigm, but as an evolving and plural research programme. Its future relevance depends on explaining not only how inherited capabilities shape regional trajectories, but also how capabilities, relatedness, and path dependence are produced, activated, selected, contested, and transformed. In doing so, EEG offers a powerful framework for understanding how economic landscapes inherit the past, generate novelty, and confront uncertain spatial, technological, social, and ecological futures. |
| Keywords: | Evolutionary Economic Geography; Regional Diversification; Path Dependence; Knowledge Spaces; Uneven Development |
| JEL: | R11 O33 O18 |
| Date: | 2026–08 |
| URL: | https://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:egu:wpaper:2619 |
| By: | Holden, Stein T. (Centre for Land Tenure Studies, Norwegian University of Life Sciences); Tione, Sarah (Centre for Land Tenure Studies, Norwegian University of Life Sciences) |
| Abstract: | We study how trust and trustworthiness respond to social distance and how beliefs, norms, and cognitive precision shape social exchange in a field experiment with irrigation farmers. Using a standard trust game with within-subject variation in social-distance framing, we distinguish interactions with an anonymous partner from the same irrigation block from interactions with a partner from another scheme within the same district. In addition to trust and reciprocal behavior, we elicit beliefs about expected returns, stated moral obligations to reciprocate, risk preferences, and decision precision measured through consistency in multiple price list choices. <p> The results reveal a clear asymmetry between trust and trustworthiness. Changes in trust across social-distance framings are primarily driven by changes in beliefs, whereas trustworthiness is more strongly associated with normative commitments and exhibits greater behavioral stability across contexts. Cognitive precision is positively related to baseline levels of trust but is associated with smaller framing-induced changes in trustworthiness, consistent with an interpretation of precision as stabilizing behavior rather than uniformly increasing prosociality. Risk preferences play a limited role once beliefs are taken into account.<p>By separating trust from trustworthiness and by distinguishing between behavioral levels and framing-induced changes, the paper provides new field evidence on the mechanisms underlying social exchange. The findings highlight the importance of beliefs for trusting behavior, norms for reciprocal behavior, and decision precision for the consistency of social decisions across contexts. |
| Keywords: | Social distance; Beliefs; Norms; Decision precision; Trust; Trustworthiness |
| JEL: | C92 C93 D01 D91 |
| Date: | 2026–08–05 |
| URL: | https://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:hhs:nlsclt:2026_007 |
| By: | Han Chu; Jingxuan Gui; Robert Hassink; Xiaomian Dai |
| Abstract: | Since its launch in 2006, evolutionary economic geography (EEG) has been successfully expanding into the main paradigm of economic geography proper. Such rapid expansion of a paradigm might have negative consequences, as it can potentially lead to conceptual and paradigmatic stretching. Such stretching can lead to the dilution of the original paradigmatic meanings and hence fuzziness, weakening explanatory power. With the help of a bibliometric analysis and literature review, this study maps the expansion and evolutionary trajectory of EEG, examines whether this expansion predominantly takes the form of stretching or the more cumulative processes of focusing and extension, and identifies the substantive characteristics of these three forms of paradigmatic evolution. We find that EEG remains a highly vibrant paradigm: most of its literature contributes through focusing and extension by consolidating or further developing its theoretical mechanisms. Stretching has increased but remains less prominent. |
| Keywords: | evolutionary economic geography, paradigm, expansion, focusing, extension, stretching |
| Date: | 2026–08 |
| URL: | https://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:egu:wpaper:2617 |
| By: | Weisberg, Michael; Brown, Rachael; Lean, Christopher H. |
| Abstract: | Standard approaches to climate adaptation, commonly understood as the protection of infrastructure, social systems, and ecosystems from adverse climate impacts, are too closely tied to the biological concept of adaptation and the ecological notion of stability. Instead, we argue that climate adaptation is better articulated by analogy to the concept of evolvability. Adaptation thus understood emphasizes the need for internal capacities of restoration and self-maintenance, preserves flexibility and options for the future, addresses the social, political, and psychological impacts of climate change, and promotes transboundary strategies. |
| Date: | 2026–08–06 |
| URL: | https://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:osf:socarx:mzjra_v2 |