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on Social Norms and Social Capital |
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Issue of 2006‒03‒11
seven papers chosen by Fabio Sabatini Universita degli Studi di Roma, La Sapienza |
| By: | Jochen Moebert (Darmstadt University of Technology, Department of Economics) |
| Abstract: | Social network formation models are often compared by their network structures, which satisfy specific equilibrium or welfare properties. Here, we concentrate on welfare criteria and define properties of utility function which are causal for certain network structures. We hope the identification of different properties of utility function will enhance the understanding of the relationship of different network formation models. If this line of research is continued, a kind of engineering of network formation models might arise such that actual social networks can be directly described by appropriate utility functions. |
| Keywords: | social networks, network formation, rival networks, welfare, efficiency |
| JEL: | D60 D85 L14 Z13 |
| Date: | 2006–03 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:tud:ddpiec:160&r=soc |
| By: | Dirk Engelmann; Veronika Grimm |
| Abstract: | We experimentally study behavior in a simple voting game where players have private information about their preferences. With random matching, subjects overwhelmingly follow the dominant strategy to exaggerate their preferences. Applying the linking mechanism suggested by Jackson and Sonnenschein (2005) captures nearly all achievable efficiency gains. Repeated interaction leads to significant gains in truthful representation and efficiency only if players can choose their partners. |
| Keywords: | Experimental Economics, Mechanism Design, Implementation, Linking, Bayesian Equilibrium, Efficiency |
| JEL: | A13 C72 C91 C92 D64 D72 D80 |
| Date: | 2006–02–28 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:kls:series:0022&r=soc |
| By: | Justina A.V. Fischer; Benno Torgler |
| Abstract: | Research evidence on the impact of relative income position on individual attitudes and behaviour is sorely lacking. Therefore, this paper assesses such positional impact on social capital by applying 14 different measurements to International Social Survey Programme data from 25 countries. We find support for a positional concern effect or ‘envy’ whose magnitude in several cases is quite substantial. The results indicate that such an effect is non-linear. In addition, we find an indication that absolute income level is also relevant. Lastly, changing the reference group (regional versus national) produces no significant differences in the results. |
| JEL: | Z13 H26 I31 D00 D60 |
| Date: | 2006–01 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:usg:dp2006:2006-04&r=soc |
| By: | Jochen Moebert (Darmstadt University of Technology, Department of Economics) |
| Abstract: | The mainly used welfare criterion in the social network literature is Bentham´s utilitarian concept. The shortcomings of this concept are well-known. We compare the outcomes of the utilitarian concept with the Nash social welfare function. By using a Taylor approximation we deduce a formula which allows the direct comparison of both concepts. The implications of welfare considerations of important network formation models are evaluated by using the multiplicative concept. We introduce a new symmetric connection model which is related to Nash´s welfare function in the same way as the original model is related to the utilitarian function. Based on the observation that heavy tail distributions like the power law distribution and the Pareto distribution can be explained by multiplicative structures we propose to use multiplicative utility functions in social network models. Furthermore, multiplicative utility and welfare functions together exhibit favorable characteristics both in normative and positive terms. Many empirically observed social networks have structures which are better modelled by multiplicative functions. From the normative perspective, multiplicative functions might be attractive since the Nash product introduces some form of justice. |
| Keywords: | social networks, welfare, efficiency, Nash product, jefficiency, justice |
| JEL: | A13 D11 D23 D61 D63 L14 Z13 |
| Date: | 2006–03 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:tud:ddpiec:161&r=soc |
| By: | Subhayu Bandyopadhyay (West Virginia University and IZA Bonn); Cletus C. Coughlin (Federal Reserve Bank of St. Louis); Howard J. Wall (Federal Reserve Bank of St. Louis) |
| Abstract: | This paper provides new estimates of the effects of ethnic network on U.S. exports. In line with recent research, our dataset is a panel of exports from U.S. states to 29 foreign countries. Our analysis departs from the literature in two ways, both of which show that previous estimates of the ethnic-network elasticity of trade are sensitive to the restrictions imposed on the estimated models. Our first departure is to control for unobserved heterogeneity with properly specified fixed effects, which we can do because our dataset contains a time dimension absent from previous studies. Our second departure is to remove the restriction that the network effect is the same for all ethnicities. We find that ethnicnetwork effects are much larger than has been estimated previously, although they are important only for a subset of countries. |
| Keywords: | ethnic networks, state exports |
| JEL: | F10 R10 |
| Date: | 2006–03 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:iza:izadps:dp1998&r=soc |
| By: | Stephen P. Jenkins (Institute for Social and Economic Research); John Micklewright (University of Southampton); Sylke V. Schnepf (University of Southampton) |
| Abstract: | We provide new evidence about the degree of social segregation in England’s secondary schools, employing a cross-national perspective. Analysis is based on data for 24 OECD member countries from the 2000 and 2003 rounds of the Programme of International Student Assessment (PISA), using a number of different measures of social background and of segregation, and allowing for sampling variation in the estimates. England is shown to be a middle-ranking country, as is the USA. High segregation countries include Austria, Belgium, Germany and Hungary. Low segregation countries include the four Nordic countries and Scotland. In explaining England’s position, we argue that its segregation is mostly accounted for by unevenness in social background in the state school sector. Focusing on this sector, we show that cross-country differences in segregation are associated with the prevalence of selective choice of pupils by schools. The low-segregation countries in the Nordic area have negligible selection in schools. High segregation countries like Austria, Germany and Hungary have separate school tracks for academic and vocational schooling and, in each case, over half of this is accounted for by unevenness in social background between the different tracks rather than by differences within each track. |
| Date: | 2006–01 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:ese:iserwp:2006-02&r=soc |
| By: | George J. Borjas |
| Abstract: | The ultimate impact of immigration on the United States obviously depends not only on the economic, social, political, and cultural shifts that take place during the life cycle of the immigrant population, but also on the adjustment process experienced by the immigrant household across generations. This paper documents the evidence on social mobility in the immigrant population and summarizes some of the lessons implied by the evidence. There is significant economic "catching up" between the first and second generations, with the relative wage of the second generation being, on average, about 5 to 10 percent higher than that of the first generation. At the same time, there is a strong positive correlation between the socioeconomic outcomes experienced by ethnic groups in the immigrant generation and the outcomes experienced by their children, and a weaker correlation between the immigrants and their grandchildren. In rough terms, about half of the differences in relative economic status across ethnic groups observed in one generation persist into the next. As a result, the very large ethnic differences in economic status that characterize the current immigrant population will likely dominate discussions of American social policy for much of the 21st century. |
| JEL: | J61 |
| Date: | 2006–03 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:nbr:nberwo:12088&r=soc |