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on Social Norms and Social Capital |
| By: | Yamamura, Eiji |
| Abstract: | This paper uses individual level data (the Japanese General Social Survey, 2001) to examine how government size influences generalized trust. After controlling for income inequality, population mobility, city size and various individual characteristics, I found: (1) Using all samples, government size is not associated with generalized trust, and (2) After splitting the sample into worker and non-worker samples, government size does not influence generalized trust for non-workers whereas it significantly reduces generalized trust for workers. This suggests that workers, through their work experience, might confront the greater bureaucratic red tape coming from “larger government”, leading to negative externality effects on the trustful relationship in the labor market. |
| Keywords: | Government size; Generalized trust |
| JEL: | D30 Z13 |
| Date: | 2010–01–03 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:pra:mprapa:19727&r=soc |
| By: | Yamamura, Eiji |
| Abstract: | This paper, using individual data from Japan, explores how the circumstances of where a person resides is related to the degree of their investment in social capital. Controlling for unobserved area-specific fixed effects and various individual characteristics, I found: (1) Not only is the rate of homeowners in a locality positively related to investment in social capital, but the rate of homeownership there increases an individual’s investment in social capital. (2) The effect of local neighborhood homeownership is distinctly larger than that of an individual’s when endogeneity bias is controlled for using instruments such as land price and the rental price of an apartment. |
| Keywords: | Social Capital; Rate of homeowner |
| JEL: | D71 R11 R23 |
| Date: | 2009–12–22 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:pra:mprapa:19495&r=soc |
| By: | Christian Bjørnskov (Department of Economics, Aarhus School of Business, Aarhus University, Denmark); Axel Dreher (University of Goettingen, Center for European, Governance and Economic Development Research (cege), Goettingen, Germany, CESifo, Germany, IZA, Germany, and KOF Swiss Economic Institute, Switzerland); Justina A.V. Fischer (Department of Economics, Stockholm School of Economics, Stockholm, Sweden; University of Hohenheim, Stuttgart, Germany, and University of Hamburg, Institute for Public Finance, Hamburg, Germany); Jan Schnellenbach (Ruprecht-Karls-Universität Heidelberg, Alfred Weber Institute for Economics, Heidelberg, Germany) |
| Abstract: | In this paper, we revisit the association between happiness and inequality. We argue that the perceived fairness of the income generation process affects this association. Building on a two-period model of individual life-time utility maximization, we predict that persons with higher perceived fairness will experience higher levels of life-time utility and are less in favor of income redistribution. In societies with a high level of actual social mobility, income inequality is perceived more positively with increased expected fairness. The opposite is expected for countries with low actual social mobility, due to an increasing relevance of a disappointment effect resulting from unsuccessful individual investments. Using the World Values Survey data and a broad set of fairness measures, we find strong support for the negative (positive) association between fairness perceptions and the demand for more equal incomes (subjective well-being). We also find strong empirical support for the disappointment effect in low social mobility countries. In contrast, the results for high-mobility countries turn out to be ambiguous. |
| Keywords: | Happiness, life satisfaction, subjective well-being, inequality, income distribution, redistribution, political ideology, justice, fairness, World Values Survey |
| JEL: | I31 H40 D31 J62 Z13 |
| Date: | 2009–12 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:kof:wpskof:09-245&r=soc |
| By: | Sabatini Fabio |
| Abstract: | This paper uses a dataset built by the author on the basis of raw data taken from different national surveys to carry out an investigation into the socio-economic determinants of couples’ childbearing decisions in Italy. Since having children is in most cases a “couple matter”, the analysis accounts for the characteristics of both the aspiring parents. Our results contradict theoretical predictions according to which the increase in the opportunity cost of motherhood connected to higher female labour participation is responsible for the fall in fertility. On the contrary, the instability of the women’s work status (i.e. their being occasional, precarious, and low-paid workers) reveals to be a significant and strong dissuasive deterrent discouraging the decision to have children. Couples with unemployed women are less likely to plan childbearing as well. Other relevant explanatory variables are age, current family size, and the strength of family ties. |
| Keywords: | Fertility, Family planning, Childbearing, Labour market, Female participation, Labour precariousness, Social capital, Italy |
| JEL: | C25 J13 Z1 |
| Date: | 2009–11 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:ter:wpaper:0058&r=soc |
| By: | Cristina Cattaneo (Fondazione Eni Enrico Mattei) |
| Abstract: | The objective of this paper is to determine whether the participation in social organizations, which are commonly defined as a form of social capital, represents a complement or a substitute with respect to emigration. The nature of the relationship depends on the motivations behind the two choices, which induce the households to join a group and to invest in migration. To address this research question a bivariate probit model is employed, in that the decision to migrate and to join a social organization are estimated simultaneously. Both temporary and permanent emigration of the household are addressed. The results of the empirical estimation reveal that families participating in social organizations are more likely to send siblings abroad permanently, as they may receive from the social network important information that is crucial for permanent emigration. Hence, social capital performs a role as complement to permanent emigration. On the other hand, social capital is associated with a lower probability of moving temporarily. This may indicate that families resort to social capital rather than to temporary circular migration to overcome contingent liquidity constraint and therefore social capital is a substitute for temporary emigration. |
| Keywords: | International Migration, Social Capital, Information Network |
| JEL: | O15 |
| Date: | 2009–11 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:fem:femwpa:2009.91&r=soc |
| By: | Elena Fumagalli (University Ca' Foscari of Venice); Laura Fumagalli (Institute for Social and Economic Research, University of Essex) |
| Abstract: | The paper studies the impact of ethnic diversity on social participation of young people. We first propose a theoretical model in which the agents choose between structured and unstructured social activities by taking into account the ethnic composition of the groups they join. We test our predictions using English census data together with the `Longitudinal Survey of Young People in England' (LSYPE) and we find that ethnic segregation increases the probability of hanging around near home, while ethnic fractionalization decreases it. Furthermore, more structured activities are not affected by ethnic fractionalization. Finally, we use an IV strategy based on both historical and geographical data to correct for endogenous sorting into neighborhoods. The results we get are even stronger than those obtained where the ethnic composition of the neighborhood is taken as exogenous. |
| Keywords: | Social Participation, Fractionalization, Segregation |
| JEL: | C25 D71 J15 |
| Date: | 2009–11 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:fem:femwpa:2009.94&r=soc |
| By: | Pablo Brañas-Garza (Universidad de Granada); Ramón Cobo-Reyes (Universidad de Granada); María Paz Espinosa (Universidad del País Vasco); Natalia Jiménez (Universidad de Granada); Jaromír Kovárík (Universidad del País Vasco); Giovanni Ponti (Universidad de Alicante; Università di Ferrara) |
| Abstract: | We report on a two-stage experiment in which i) we first elicit the social network within a section of undergraduate students and ii) we then measure their altruistic attitudes by means of a standard Dictator game. We observe that more socially integrated subjects are also more altruistic, as betweenness centrality and reciprocal degree are positively correlated with the level of giving, even after controlling for framing and social distance, which have been shown to signicantly affect giving in previous studies. Our findings suggest that social distance and social integration are complementary determinants of altruistic behavior. |
| Keywords: | Altruism, centrality, social network experiments |
| JEL: | C93 D85 |
| Date: | 2009–12–21 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:ehu:ikerla:200935&r=soc |
| By: | de Marti, Joan (Universitat Pompeu Fabra); Zenou, Yves (Research Institute of Industrial Economics (IFN)) |
| Abstract: | We survey the literature on social networks by putting together the economics, sociological and physics/applied mathematics approaches, showing their similarities and differences. We expose, in particular, the two main ways of modeling network formation. While the physics/applied mathematics approach is capable of reproducing most observed networks, it does not explain why they emerge. On the contrary, the economics approach is very precise in explaining why networks emerge but does a poor job in matching real-world networks. We also analyze behaviors on networks, which take networks as given and focus on the impact of their structure on individuals’ outcomes. Using a game-theoretical framework, we then compare the results with those obtained in sociology. |
| Keywords: | Random Graph; Game Theory; Centrality Measures; Network Formation; Weak |
| JEL: | A14 C72 D85 Z13 |
| Date: | 2009–12–09 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:hhs:iuiwop:0816&r=soc |
| By: | Atsushi Tsuneki; Yoshinobu Zasu |
| Abstract: | How the law and the social norm interact with each other in the legalized modern society, whether the law completely replaces the pre-existing social norm or they coexist, and whether their interaction achieves an efficient system of social rules or there is innate inefficiency, have remained obscure until today. This article provides an analytical model to clarify the interrelationship between the law and the social norm. We show that, where both the law and social norm maximize social welfare, their non-cooperative interaction attains Pareto efficiency and that they are perfect substitutes to each other. We then consider the case where social norm is determined on the basis of some misperceptions and show the possibility that an inefficient social system may persist. Furthermore, we illustrate the possibility that law and social norm are complements to each other and that the existence of the government could be second-best. |
| Date: | 2010–01 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:dpr:wpaper:0765&r=soc |
| By: | Growiec, Katarzyna; Growiec, Jakub |
| Abstract: | We propose a novel mechanism giving rise to poverty traps and multiple equilibria in economic performance. It is a potentially important source of persistent underdevelopment across countries and regions. At the core of this mechanism, bridging social capital and social trust feed back on each other, interdependently affecting individuals' earnings and subjective well-being. High trust and abundant bridging social capital reinforce each other, leading to a "high" equilibrium where both these variables take persistently high values, and earnings and well-being are high as well, whereas low trust and lacking bridging social capital create a vicious circle, leading to a "low trust trap" where all these variables are persistently low. The workings of our theoretical model are in agreement with a wide range of findings from the contemporary literature in sociology and social psychology. |
| Keywords: | bridging social capital; social trust; earnings; subjective well-being; multiple equilibria; poverty trap |
| JEL: | O11 J22 D10 |
| Date: | 2009–12–22 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:pra:mprapa:19518&r=soc |
| By: | M. König; Claudio J. Tessone; Yves Zenou |
| Abstract: | In order to understand the different characteristics observed in real-world networks, one needs to analyze how and why networks form, the impact of network structure on agents' outcomes, and the evolution of networks over time. For this purpose, we combine a network game introduced by Ballester et al. [2006], where the Nash equilibrium action of each agent is proportional to her Bonacich centrality, with an endogenous network formation process. Links are formed on the basis of agents' centrality while the network is exposed to a volatile environment introducing interruptions in the connections between agents. A remarkable feature of our dynamic network formation process is that, at each period of time, the network is a nested split graph. This graph has very nice mathematical properties and are relatively easy to characterize. We show that there exists a unique stationary network (which is a nested split graph) whose topological properties completely match features exhibited by real-world networks. We also ï¬nd that there exists a sharp transition in efficiency and network density from highly centralized to decentralized networks. |
| Keywords: | Bonacich centrality, Network formation, Social interactions, Nested split graphs |
| JEL: | A14 C63 D85 |
| Date: | 2009–10–21 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:stz:wpaper:ccss-09-00006&r=soc |
| By: | Gürerk, Özgür (University of Erfurt); Irlenbusch, Bernd (London School of Economics); Rockenbach, Bettina (University of Erfurt) |
| Abstract: | Economic and social interactions often take place in open communities but the dynamics of the community choice process and its impact on cooperation of its members are yet not well understood. We experimentally investigate community choice in social dilemmas. Participants repeatedly choose between a community with and an alternative without punishment opportunities. Within each community a social dilemma game is played. While the community with punishment grows over time and fully cooperates, the alternative becomes depopulated. We analyze the success of this "voting with feet" mechanism and find that endogenous self-selection is key while slow growth is less decisive. |
| Keywords: | cooperation, social dilemmas, community choice, punishment, voting with feet |
| JEL: | C72 C92 H41 |
| Date: | 2009–12 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:iza:izadps:dp4643&r=soc |
| By: | Boris Branisa (University of Göttingen); Stephan Klasen (University of Göttingen); Maria Ziegler (University of Göttingen) |
| Abstract: | Institutions are a major factor explaining development outcomes. This study focuses on social institutions related to gender inequality understood as long-lasting norms, values and codes of conduct that shape gender roles, and presents evidence on why they matter for development. We derive hypotheses from existing theories and empirically test them at the cross-country level with linear regressions using the newly created Social Institutions and Gender Index (SIGI) and its subindices as measures for social institutions. We find that apart from geography, political system, religion, the level of economic development, one has to consider social institutions related to gender inequality to better account for differences in development. Our results show that social institutions that deprive women of their autonomy and bargaining power in the household, or that increase the private costs and reduce the private returns to investments into girls, are associated with lower female education, higher fertility rates and higher child mortality. Moreover, social institutions related to gender inequality are negatively associated with governance measured as rule of law and voice and accountability. |
| Keywords: | Social institutions; SIGI; Gender inequality; Fertility; Child and infant mortality; Female education; Governance |
| JEL: | D63 I10 I20 H1 J16 |
| Date: | 2009–11–13 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:got:gotcrc:015&r=soc |
| By: | Dinko Dimitrov (University of Munich); Clemens Puppe (Karlsruhe Institute of Technology) |
| Abstract: | We consider the problem of how societies should be partitioned into classes if individuals express their views about who should be put with whom in the same class. A non-bossiness condition makes the social aggregator dependent only on those cells of the individual partitions the society members classify themselves in. This information is used to construct for each profile of views an opinion graph. By means of natural sovereignty and liberalism requirements, we characterize the non-bossy aggregators generating partitions in which the social classes are refinements of the connected components in the opinion graph. |
| Keywords: | Social Aggregation, Group Identity, Liberalism, Non-bossiness |
| JEL: | D71 |
| Date: | 2009–11 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:fem:femwpa:2009.101&r=soc |
| By: | Swee-Hoon Chuah (Nottingham University Business School) |
| Abstract: | In contrast to current literature which mainly identifies relationships between particular economic behaviours and specific attitudes suggestive of those behaviours, we explore the potential of general human values for explaining economic behaviour. In particular, we investigate whether behaviours observed in binary-choice lotteries, time discounting, public good, ultimatum, dictator and trust game experiments can be explained by Schwartz’s theory of universal human values. We find that the values have explanatory power in relation to strategic, but not parametric, behaviours. We discuss this finding in terms of the sociology of values and suggest that situations involving human interactions provide the most conducive context for the expression of values. We also find that different subsets of the values relate to different strategic behaviours, indicating that there is no redundancy in their explanatory power. |
| Keywords: | Values, behaviour, survey, experiments |
| JEL: | C72 C91 D81 |
| Date: | 2010–01–04 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:bbr:workpa:6&r=soc |
| By: | Siddiqui, Danish Ahmed; Ahmed, Qazi Masood |
| Abstract: | The role of institutions in promoting economic growth and development has generated considerable interest among researchers and practitioners in recent years. This paper explores the role of state institutions in promoting growth using a GMM econometric model. Specifically it attempted to test impact of two dimensions of institutions on growth using recently developed index of institutionalized social technologies and its sub indices namely Risk reducing technologies and Anti rent seeking technologies. The result suggests a strong causal link between institutional quality and economic performance, and also confirms conditional convergence as predicted in the modern theories of growth |
| Keywords: | institutions; social technologies; index; GMM; social capital; growth; rent seeking; rent seeking; risk; corruption; property rights |
| JEL: | Z1 O43 D72 P48 Z13 |
| Date: | 2009 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:pra:mprapa:19747&r=soc |