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on Social Norms and Social Capital |
| By: | Bergh, Andreas (Research Institute of Industrial Economics (IFN)); Bjørnskov, Christian (Aarhus University) |
| Abstract: | The cross-country correlation between social trust and income equality is well documented, but few studies examine the direction of causality. We show theoretically that by facilitating cooperation, trust may increase efficiency and lead to more equal outcomes, while the feedback from inequality to trust is ambiguous. Using a structural equations model estimated on a large country sample, we find that trust has a positive effect on both market and net income equality. Larger welfare states lead to higher net equality but neither net income equality nor welfare state size seems to have a causal effect on trust. We conclude that while trust facilitates welfare state policies that may reduce net inequality, this decrease in inequality does not increase trust. |
| Keywords: | Social trust; Inequality; Welfare State |
| JEL: | D63 D69 H10 |
| Date: | 2013–12–12 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:hhs:iuiwop:0994&r=soc |
| By: | Timo Hener; Helmut Rainer; Thomas Siedler |
| Abstract: | Over the last several decades, there has been a widespread decrease in civic engagement coinciding with a breakdown in traditional family structures in many countries throughout the developed world. According to Putnam in Bowling alone (2000), however, none of the major declines in civic engagement can be accounted for by the decline in traditional family structures. In this paper, we seek to contribute a robust picture of how adult civic engagement is affected by growing up in a non-intact family. Using 26 waves of annual longitudinal data from the German Socio-Economic Panel, we construct various measures of family structure during childhood, and perform both cross-sectional and sibling difference analyses for different indicators of young adults’ civic engagement. Both exercises reveal a significant negative relationship between growing up in a non-intact family and children’s civic, social and political engagement as adults. We argue that this finding is consistent with causation rather than selection as the explanation for the negative relationship, and provide several robustness checks to support this claim. |
| Keywords: | Childhood family structure, civic engagement, social capital |
| JEL: | J12 |
| Date: | 2013 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:diw:diwsop:diw_sp612&r=soc |
| By: | Yasuhiro Sato (Graduate School of Economics, Osaka University); Yves Zenou (Research Institute of Industrial Economics (IFN), Stockholm University) |
| Abstract: | We develop a model where unemployed workers in the city can find a job either directly or through weak or strong ties. We show that, in denser areas, individuals choose to interact with more people and meet more random encounters (weak ties) than in sparsely populated areas. We also demonstrate that, for a low urbanization level, there is a unique steady-state equilibrium where workers do not interact with weak ties, while, for a high level of urbanization, there is a unique steady-state equilibrium with full social interactions. We show that these equilibria are usually not socially efficient when the urban population has an intermediate size because there are too few social interactions compared to the social optimum. Finally, even when social interactions are optimal, we show that there is over-urbanization in equilibrium. |
| Keywords: | Weak ties, strong ties, social interactions, urban economics, labor market |
| JEL: | J61 R14 R23 |
| Date: | 2013–12 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:osk:wpaper:1332&r=soc |
| By: | Marianne Lumeau (University of Paris 13, CEPN and Labex ICCA, France); David Masclet (CREM UMR CNRS 6211, Université de Rennes 1, France); Thierry Pénard (Université de Rennes 1, CREM UMR CNRS 6211, France) |
| Abstract: | Several studies have highlighted the role of feedback mechanisms in the success of electronic marketplaces. In this current experiment, we attempt to isolate experimentally the role of reputation and social (dis)approval associated to ratings using a trust game experiment with the opportunity to rate one’s partner (Keser, 2003; Masclet and Penard, 2012). For this purpose we compare two experimental feedback systems that differ in the information that is publically available to participants. In a first feedback system, individuals’ rating profiles are public whereas in the second feedback system this information is private. Our findings indicate that both private and public ratings improve cooperation. However, we observe that private feedbacks are less efficient in enhancing trust and trustworthiness than public systems. This is mainly due to fact that fewer ratings are assigned in the private feedback system than in the public system. Altogether these findings suggest that, even if social (dis)approval matters, publicly observed feedback remains crucial to induce honest behaviors and improve efficiency on markets characterized by imperfect information. |
| Keywords: | Reputation, (dis)approval, Experiment, Trust Game |
| Date: | 2013–12 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:tut:cremwp:201343&r=soc |
| By: | Leyden, Dennis P. (University of North Carolina at Greensboro, Department of Economics); Link, Albert N. (University of North Carolina at Greensboro, Department of Economics); Siegel, Donald S. (University at Albany, SUNY) |
| Abstract: | Entrepreneurship involves innovation and uncertainty. We outline a theory of entrepreneurship, which highlights the importance of social networks in promoting innovation and reducing uncertainty. Our findings suggest that this “social” aspect of entrepreneurship increases the probability of entrepreneurial success. The results also lend credence to theories of entrepreneurship that suggest that entrepreneurial opportunities are formed endogenously by the entrepreneurs who create them. We also consider the public policy implications of our findings. |
| Keywords: | Entrepreneurship; Social networks; Innovation; Technology |
| JEL: | O31 O32 O33 O38 Z13 |
| Date: | 2013–12–17 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:ris:uncgec:2013_022&r=soc |
| By: | Emanuele Felice (Departament d'Economia i d'Història Econòmica, Universitat Autònoma de Barcelona) |
| Abstract: | The chapter presents up-to-date estimates of Italy’s regional GDP, with the present borders, in ten-year benchmarks from 1871 to 2001, and proposes a new interpretative hypothesis based on long-lasting socio-institutional differences. The inverted U-shape of income inequality is confirmed: rising divergence until the midtwentieth century, then convergence. However, the latter was limited to the centrenorth: Italy was divided into three parts by the time regional inequality peaked, in 1951, and appears to have been split into two halves by 2001. As a consequence of the falling back of the south, from 1871 to 2001 we record s-divergence across Italy’s regions, i.e. an increase in dispersion, and sluggish ß-convergence. Geographical factors and the market size played a minor role: against them are both the evidence that most of the differences in GDP are due to employment rather than to productivity and the observed GDP patterns of many regions. The gradual converging of regional GDPs towards two equilibria instead follows social and institutional differences - in the political and economic institutions and in the levels of human and social capital - which originated in pre-unification states and did not die (but in part even increased) in postunification Italy. |
| Keywords: | Italy, regional convergence, long-run economic growth, geography, institutions |
| JEL: | O11 O18 O52 N13 N14 |
| Date: | 2013–12 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:aub:uhewps:2013_08&r=soc |
| By: | Batista, Catia (Universidade Nova de Lisboa); Narciso, Gaia (Trinity College Dublin) |
| Abstract: | Do information flows matter for remittance behavior? We design and implement a randomized control trial to quantitatively assess the role of communication between migrants and their contacts abroad on the extent and value of remittance flows. In the experiment, a random sample of 1,500 migrants residing in Ireland was offered the possibility of contacting their networks outside the host country for free over a varying number of months. We find a sizable, positive impact of our intervention on the value of migrant remittances sent. Our results exclude that the remittance effect we identify is a simple substitution effect. Instead, our analysis points to this effect being a likely result of improved information via factors such as better migrant control over remittance use, enhanced trust in remittance channels due to experience sharing, or increased remittance recipients' social pressure on migrants. |
| Keywords: | information flows, international migration, migrant networks, remittances, randomized control trial |
| JEL: | F22 J61 O15 |
| Date: | 2013–12 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:iza:izadps:dp7839&r=soc |
| By: | Anna Klabunde |
| Abstract: | Trust is an important determinant of start-up fi nancing. In a simple agentbased model it is determined what the best trusting strategy is for a collective of investors and whether it is rational for an individual investor to deviate from this collective optimum. Trust depends on a measure of social distance and is the precondition for investment. Trust increases and decreases based on whether an investor is satisfied with the interest payments received from an entrepreneur. If an investor is dissatisfi ed, he terminates the relation with the entrepreneur. For assessing the quality of their own investments, investors communicate with other investors in a network-like structure. I find that, as a collective, it is best for investors to compare their returns critically in order to identify unproductive entrepreneurs, but to be tolerant regarding existing links to entrepreneurs in order not to terminate profitable relations because of minor productivity drops. However, it is optimal for an individual investor to deviate from this strategy and to be less easily disappointed, but to decrease trust in larger steps. In a sense, an individual investor can freeride on the others’ critical assessment. If all investors behave according to this latter strategy, too many unproductive firms remain in the market and the average investor’s return is lower than in the collective optimum. |
| Keywords: | Business angel investment; trust; entrepreneurship; agent-based simulation |
| JEL: | C63 G02 G24 L26 |
| Date: | 2013–11 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:rwi:repape:0450&r=soc |
| By: | Gautier, Arthur (ESSEC Business School); Pache, Anne-Claire (ESSEC Business School); Mossel , Valérie (Rotterdam School of Management, Erasmus university) |
| Abstract: | In this paper, we provide an outline of the philanthropic landscape in France and analyze the results of a 2009 survey of 4,612 French households about their giving patterns. In the first part, we synthesize knowledge on the history of philanthropy in France, its size and scope, government policy and regulation as well as elements of cultural context. In the second part of the paper, we present a quantitative analysis of recent giving survey data in France, highlighting several determinants on the likelihood to give and the amount donated. Trust towards others, religious beliefs, secondary education, old age and home ownership seem to be the strongest determinants for giving in France. This chapter will be part of the forthcoming Palgrave Research Companion to Global Philanthropy, edited by Pamala Wiepking and Femida Handy. |
| Keywords: | Determinants; France; Giving; Philanthropy |
| JEL: | D64 |
| Date: | 2013–11 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:ebg:essewp:dr-13018&r=soc |
| By: | Cantner, Uwe; Michael, Stuetzer |
| Abstract: | A central development within the management literature has been the growth of nascent entrepreneur research analysing on--going venture start-up efforts and/or firms in gestation over time (Davidsson, 2006). New ventures have an important effect on economic development. They are credited for the transfer of innovations into the market (Schumpeter, 1934; Acs and Plummer; 2005) and creating regional employment (e.g. Fritsch and Mueller, 2004). Central questions in nascent entrepreneurship research concern the characteristics of the venture creation process and the factors affecting performance of these firms (for an overview see Davidsson, 2006). Among other factors considered in the literature, the social embeddedness of the entrepreneur has been found to play a pivotal role (Davidsson and Honig, 2003). Social capital enables entrepreneurs to access resources (Florin et al., 2003) or novel information (Uzzi, 1997) in order to create opportunities (Baker and Nelson, 2005). During the venture creation process, most firms suffer from substantial resource constraints (Shepherd et al., 2000) and use their personal networks as a means to access resources and information far below market price (Elfring and Hulsink, 2003). However, a sizeable gap exists in the burgeoning social capital literature on the subject of team start--ups. A most prominent finding is that team start--ups are more successful than solo start--ups (e.g. Lechler, 2001). One of the offered explanations is that entrepreneurs can combine their abilities and financial capital in a team, giving them an advantage above solo entrepreneurs (e.g. Gartner, 1985; Stam and Schutjens, 2006). Sometimes explicitly (e.g. Colombo and Grilli, 2005; Stam and Schutjens, 2006) but more often implicitly (e.g. Davidsson and Honig, 2003; van Gelderen et al., 2005), the same argument is applied to the usage of social capital, i.e. that the social capital from individual team members is combined to provide an advantage for teams over solo entrepreneurs. As yet, to our knowledge, no study has explicitly analysed whether, compared to solo entrepreneurs, more social capital is found within teams and whether this leads to their better performance. In this chapter, we approach these two questions and empirically explore the use of social capital of solo entrepreneurs and entrepreneurial teams during the venture creation process. In doing so, we refine the empirical concept of social capital in that we do not look at its mere existence but focus on its use in terms of concrete support (e.g. advice on the business plan, marketing, or research and development - R&D) for the entrepreneurs. We address two major research questions. The first concerns the differential use of social capital. Do solo entrepreneurs rely more often on social capital than new venture teams, or is it the other way around? How do both types of start--ups use social capital? More precisely, we investigate the relationship between social capital and other characteristics of the new venture and its founders (e.g. human capital). The second research question then turns to the effect of social capital on subsequent new venture performance. Appropriate hypotheses in this study are tested using a dataset of 456 start--ups in innovative industries in the German state of Thuringia. The reminder of this chapter is organized as follows. In Section 2, we review the theory and previous research on social capital in order to generate six testable hypotheses. In Section 3, we describe the dataset and the methods employed to measure the use of social capital. We then present (Section 4) the results of our analysis. The chapter concludes in Section 5, where we interpret and discuss the results and draw some conclusions. |
| Keywords: | Social capital, human capital, new businesses |
| JEL: | M13 |
| Date: | 2103 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:pra:mprapa:52482&r=soc |
| By: | Nils Roehl (University of Paderborn) |
| Abstract: | Suppose some individuals are allowed to engage in different groups at the same time and they generate a certain welfare by cooperation. Finding appropriate ways for distributing this welfare is a non-trivial issue. The purpose of this work is to analyze two-stage allocation procedures where first each group receives a share of the welfare which is then, subsequently, distributed among the corresponding members. To study these procedures in a structured way, cooperative games and network games are combined in a general framework by using mathematical hypergraphs. Moreover, several convincing requirements on allocation procedures are discussed and formalized. Thereby it will be shown, for example, that the Position Value and iteratively applying the Myerson Value can be characterized by similar axiomatizations. |
| Keywords: | Allocation Rules, Economic and Social Networks, Hypergraphs, Myerson Value, Position Value |
| JEL: | C71 D85 L22 |
| Date: | 2013–12 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:pdn:wpaper:73&r=soc |
| By: | Michail Batikas (European Commission – JRC - IPTS); Rene Van Bavel (European Commission – JRC - IPTS) |
| Abstract: | Deliverable 2 of the SEA-SoNS ("Assessing the Benefits of Social Networks on Organizations”) project brings together results from different research activities, both qualitative and quantitative. Together, these results paint a picture of the benefits to organisations of social media, the barriers they face, and the scope for policy action. Phase 2 of SEA-SoNS, which built on the results of Phase 1, included a survey of 600 SMEs in six EU Member States (UK, Netherlands, Spain, Italy, Bulgaria and Latvia), five in-depth interviews conducted with micro firms (less than 10 employees) that use social media in four countries (Spain, Denmark, Netherlands and UK), and a summary of these findings with emphasis on identifying relevant factors for developing future scenarios. This report includes an executive summary and four annexes: the methodological report of the survey, the findings of the survey, the results of the in-depth interviews and a background document for the validation workshop that took place at Seville in July 2013. |
| Keywords: | Europe 2020, Digital Agenda for Europe, Digital Living, Digital Society, Digital Economy, Information Society, electronic Identity Systems, economic implications of personal data, Behavioural science and policy impacts |
| Date: | 2013–12 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:ipt:iptwpa:jrc85669&r=soc |