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on Social Norms and Social Capital |
| By: | Branisa, Boris; Ziegler, Maria |
| Abstract: | In this paper we reexamine the link between gender inequality and corruption. We review the literature on the relationship between representation of women in economic and political life, democracy and corruption, and bring in a new previously omitted variable that captures the level of discrimination against women in a society: social institutions related to gender inequality. Using a sample of developing countries we regress corruption on the representation of women, democracy and other control variables. Then we add the subindex civil liberties from the OECD Development Centre's GID Data-Base as the measure of social institutions related to gender inequality. The results show that corruption is higher in countries where social institutions deprive women of their freedom to participate in social life, even accounting for democracy and representation of women in political and economic life as well as for other variables. Our findings suggest that, in a context where social values disadvantage women, neither political reforms towards democracy nor increasing the representation of women in political and economic positions might be enough to reduce corruption. -- |
| Keywords: | Social institutions,Gender inequality,Corruption,OECD Development Centre's GID Data-Base |
| JEL: | D63 D73 J16 |
| Date: | 2011 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:zbw:gdec11:15&r=soc |
| By: | Senne, Jean-Noel; Chort, Isabelle; Gubert, Flore |
| Abstract: | The economic literature provides much evidence of the positive impacts of social capital on migrants' economic outcomes, in particular through assistance upon arrival and insurance in times of hardship. Yet, although much less documented, migrant networks may well have a great influence on migrants' remittances to their home country and particularly to their origin household. Given all the services provided by the network, the fear of being ostracized by its members and being left with no support system could then provide an additional incentive for migrants to commit to prevailing remittances behavior, as an affirmation of their community membership. In this paper, we thus analyze to what extent migrant networks in the destination country influence the degree to which migrants meet the claims of those left behind. We first develop a simple principal-agent model in which remittances are the result of a contractual agreement between the migrant and his origin household and the network works as an enforcement device. We thus depart from existing models of motives for remitting which generally do not account for the close-knit networks migrants are embedded in. We then use an original data set covering Senegalese migrants residing in France and Italy to test the main predictions of our model. -- |
| Date: | 2011 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:zbw:gdec11:73&r=soc |
| By: | Girard, Victoire |
| Abstract: | We study the impact of inter-group relationships, with inter-group distance, on intra-group cooperation behavior for Indian rural households. This is an application to a real world case of some experimental results of the identity economics literature. This literature offers insight of channels through which inter-group relationships affect in-group actions, with identification to the in-group, and the resulting norm enforcement behavior. We proxy distance with differences of returns to attributes to one traditionally low status group (the Scheduled Castes, SC, standing for traditionally so-called untouchables), compared to the rest of the population (reference group). We then study the effect of this distance variable on in-group cooperation. In our data set, a cooperative behavior corresponds to the involvement in a collective action for water supply. Inter-group relationships appear to have the expected effect on intra-group cooperation for SC and households: the worst inter-group relationships, the more intra-group cooperation. -- |
| Date: | 2011 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:zbw:gdec11:32&r=soc |
| By: | Beerli-Palacio, Asunción; Díaz-Meneses, Gonzalo; Fernández-Monroy, Margarita; Galván-Sánchez, Inmaculada; Martín-Santana, Josefa D. |
| Abstract: | This research work sets out the objective of developing and estimating the young alcohol adoption model. This model points out the importance of values, moreover it meassures how influence values over attitudes, beliefs and emotions. The obtained results point out not only the antecedent role played by values but also the causal effect played by attitudes on beliefs, plus emotions on irresponsibles alcohol consumption behaviours. In addition, it is analised how reference group and gender are important exogenus variables in this model. Finally, some practical implications are drawn regarding responsability and hedonism values, moreover some beliefs about normality, health and social disaprobal. |
| Keywords: | Youth; Cannabis; Alcohol; Reference Group; Gender; Beliefs; Attitude; Values; Social Marketing |
| Date: | 2011 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:nsu:apasro:313&r=soc |
| By: | Agostinho, Denise; Arminda, Maria; Finisterra, do Paço |
| Abstract: | The value of volunteers to society is unquestionable. Understanding volunteer's motivations has been regularly recognised by researchers and administrators as a valuable component of volunteer's management. However, why people volunteer remains a studied but unresolved question. Indeed, individuals seem to volunteer their self for many different reasons, some of which may be based on their social situation, age or personal needs. In this study, and taking as unit of analysis the food bank volunteer, it was observed that the main differences between ‘Permanent' and ‘Occasional' volunteers are variables as age, ‘Benefits for own well-being and ‘Being volunteer in other institution'. |
| Keywords: | Volunteer; Volunteering; Motivations; Food Bank |
| Date: | 2011 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:nsu:apasro:309&r=soc |
| By: | d'Adda, Giovanni |
| Abstract: | I look at the effect of social status on transmission of pro-social behavior. In an artefactual field experiment conducted in northern Colombia I observe contribution to local biodiversity conservation. The design varies whether choice is observable or not and social status of observing/observed individuals. Status is derived from a social ranking exercise identifying formal and moral leaders within the community. I find that leaders have higher valuation of the common good and that their giving is less volatile in the face of exposure to participants contributing lower amounts. Social information on others giving is particularly effective when low status participants are able to observe leaders' choices. I interpret the results as evidence in favor of preference-based altruism and upward social comparison theories. The findings confirm those of laboratory experiments on status in a field setting and with naturally occurring leaders. The study has relevant policy implications in terms of targeting of development programs and questions the commonly held negative view of elites in developing countries. -- |
| Date: | 2011 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:zbw:gdec11:22&r=soc |
| By: | Pinho, José Carlos; Soares, Ana Maria |
| Abstract: | Social networks allow users to build their own webpage and share information with other internet users. In the last years, multi-purpose social networks have appeared and been eagerly adopted by consumers and companies for multiple social, communication and marketing purposes. We focus on the determinants of adoption behavior of social networks. Notably, we examine the Technology Acceptance Model (TAM), a model specifically developed to explain adoption of information technologies, and test whether it can be used to explain consumers' use of Social Networks. Our results support the model and confirm that Perceived Usefulness and Perceived Ease of Use impact the attitude towards using Social Networks, leading to Intention to Use these tools. |
| Keywords: | attitudes and behavioural intention; beliefs; Technology Acceptance Model (TAM); Social Networks |
| Date: | 2011 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:nsu:apasro:348&r=soc |
| By: | Licandro, Oscar Daniel; Sabath, Juanita; Yapor, Stefanía |
| Abstract: | This paper presents a descriptive overview of the management actions for the benefit of the Community, carried out by companies belonging to business organizations that promote CSR in Uruguay. In the first place the paper contains an analysis of the documentation provided by this kind of organizations and some of their suggested criteria towards an adequate management in social action are extracted from there. Then, the document shows the results on an empirical research based on a self - administrated survey which was addressed to the managers who are responsible for the social actions in those companies. |
| Keywords: | Civil Society Organizations; Social Proyect; Corporate Social Action; Commitment to the Community; Corporate Social Responsibility |
| Date: | 2011 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:nsu:apasro:328&r=soc |
| By: | Bigoni, Maria (University of Bologna); Fort, Margherita (University of Bologna); Nardotto, Mattia (Telecom - Paris Tech); Reggiani, Tommaso (University of Bologna) |
| Abstract: | This paper assesses the effect of two stylized and antithetic non-monetary incentive schemes on students’ effort. We collect data from a field experiment where incentives are exogenously imposed, performance is monitored and individual characteristics are observed. Students are randomly assigned to a tournament scheme that fosters competition between coupled students, a cooperative scheme that promotes information sharing and collaboration between students and a control treatment in which students can neither compete, nor cooperate. In line with theoretical predictions, we find that competition induces higher effort with respect to cooperation and cooperation does not increase effort with respect to the baseline. However, this is true only for men, while women do not seem to react to non-monetary incentives. |
| Keywords: | education, field experiments, incentives, competition, cooperation |
| JEL: | A22 C93 I20 |
| Date: | 2011–07 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:iza:izadps:dp5844&r=soc |