|
on Social Norms and Social Capital |
|
Issue of 2018‒01‒08
eleven papers chosen by Fabio Sabatini Università degli Studi di Roma “La Sapienza” |
| By: | Fehr, Ernst (University of Zurich); Williams, Tony (University of Zurich) |
| Abstract: | Throughout human history, informal sanctions by peers were ubiquitous and played a key role in the enforcement of social norms and the provision of public goods. However, a considerable body of evidence suggests that informal peer sanctions cause large collateral damage and efficiency costs. This raises the question whether peer sanctioning systems exist that avoid these costs and whether other, more centralized, punishment systems are superior and will be preferred by the people. Here, we show that efficient peer sanctioning without much need for costly punishment emerges quickly if we introduce two relevant features of social life into the experiment: (i) subjects can migrate across groups with different sanctioning institutions and (ii) they have the chance to achieve consensus about normatively appropriate behavior. We also show that subjects universally reject peer sanctioning without a norm consensus opportunity – an institution that has hitherto dominated research in this field – in favor of our efficient peer sanctioning institution or an equally efficient institution where they delegate the power to sanction to an elected judge. Migration opportunities and normative consensus building are key to the quick emergence of an efficient culture of universal cooperation because the more prosocial subjects populate the two efficient institutions first, elect prosocial judges (if institutionally possible), and immediately establish a social norm of high cooperation. This norm appears to guide subjects' cooperation and punishment choices, including the virtually complete removal of antisocial punishment when judges make the sanctioning decision. |
| Keywords: | endogenous institutions, punishment, cooperation, public goods |
| JEL: | D02 D03 D72 H41 |
| Date: | 2017–11 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:iza:izadps:dp11131&r=soc |
| By: | Toke Aidt; Gabriel Leon; Max Satchell |
| Abstract: | Social unrest often erupts suddenly and diffuses quickly. What drives people to overcome their collective action problem and join a riot or protest, turning what is initially a small event into a widespread movement? We address this question by examining the Swing riots of 1830-31. The communication constraints of the time induced spatio-temporal variation in exposure to news about the uprising, allowing us to estimate the role of contagion in the spread of the riots. We find that local (rather than national) sources of information were central in driving contagion, and that this contagion magnified the impact that social and economic fundamentals had on riots by a factor of 2.65. Our historical data allow us to overcome a number of econometric challenges, but the Swing riots are of independent interest as well: they contributed to the passage of the Great Reform Act, a key step in Britain’s institutional development. |
| Keywords: | riots, diffusion, conflict, contagion, Captain Swing |
| JEL: | D72 D74 O16 |
| Date: | 2017 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:ces:ceswps:_6773&r=soc |
| By: | Omar Shahabudin McDoom |
| Abstract: | How do changes in socio-economic inequality between ethnic groups affect interethnic ties in a divided society? I analyse the evolution of cross-ethnic marriages in a society affected by violence along ethnic boundaries and make three principal findings. First, as inequality between ethnic groups increases, the prospects of interethnic marriages decline. Status equalization between ethnic groups promotes cross-ethnic ties. Insofar as intermarriage indicates social cohesion, reducing ethnic inequality in multiethnic societies may facilitate ethnic integration. Second, the effect of ethnic inequality is not uniform across ethnic groups. Endogamy remains high among certain groups even when socio-economic disparities diminish. I suggest this is because the ethnic norms and sanctions proscribing outmarriage are particularly powerful within these groups. Third, the social and political salience of ethnic boundaries may be distinct. Intermarriages can increase even as civil war violence intensifies. Ethnic divisions risk being overstated by assuming political attitudes also drive choices in the social sphere. I establish these findings in the deeply-divided society of Mindanao in the southern Philippines by analysing over 6.2 million marriages and comparing individual-level census data for the years 2000 and 2010. Mindanao is home to a longstanding insurgency, waged by rebels drawn from the native Muslim Moro population resentful of their minoritization and dispossession by Christian settlers. |
| Date: | 2017 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:unu:wpaper:wp2017-204&r=soc |
| By: | Claudius Graebner (Institute for Comprehensive Analysis of the Economy, Johannes Kepler University Linz, Austria); Wolfram Elsner (Institute for Institutional and Innovation Economics, University of Bremen, Germany); Alexander Lascaux (Russian Presidential Academy of National Economy and Public Administration, Moscow, Russia) |
| Abstract: | This paper illustrates the usefulness of computational methods for the investigation of institutions. As an example, we use a computational agent-based model to study the role of general trust and social control in informal value transfer systems (ITVS). We find that, how and in which timeline general trust and social control interact in order to make ITVS work, become stable and highly effective. The case shows how computational models may help (1) to operationalize institutional theory and to clarify the functioning of institutions, (2) to test the logical consistency of alternative hypotheses about institutions, and (3) to relate institutionalist theory with other paradigms and to practice an interested pluralism. |
| Keywords: | agent-based computational economics, evolutionary-institutional economics, informal value transfer systems, general trust, social control |
| Date: | 2017–12 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:ico:wpaper:74&r=soc |
| By: | Nicola Fontana; Tommaso Nannicini; Guido Tabellini |
| Abstract: | The Italian civil war and the Nazi occupation of Italy occurred at a critical juncture, just before the birth of a new democracy. We study the impact of these traumatic events by exploiting geographic heterogeneity in the duration and intensity of civil war, and the persistence of the battlefront along the “Gothic line” cutting through Northern-Central Italy. We find that the Communist Party gained votes in postwar elections where the Nazi occupation lasted longer, mainly at the expense of centrist parties. This effect persists until the late 1980s and appears to be driven by equally persistent changes in political attitudes. |
| Date: | 2017 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:igi:igierp:618&r=soc |
| By: | Huu Chi Nguyen (Développement, Institutions & Mondialisation - IRD - Institut de Recherche pour le Développement - Université Paris-Dauphine, LEDa - Laboratoire d'Economie de Dauphine - Université Paris-Dauphine); Christophe Jalil Nordman (Développement, Institutions & Mondialisation - IRD - Institut de Recherche pour le Développement - Université Paris-Dauphine, LEDa - Laboratoire d'Economie de Dauphine - Université Paris-Dauphine) |
| Abstract: | Using a unique panel of household businesses for Vietnam, this paper sheds light on the links between households’ and entrepreneurs’ social networks and business performance. We address two related questions. One first question asks if we can find evidence of a differentiated effect of employment of members of the family versus hired workers on the business performance. A second question tackles the respective effects of various dimensions of social networks on the business technical efficiency. The assumption is that, beyond the channel of labour productivity, entrepreneurs that are confronted with an unfavourable social environment may produce less efficiently and realize a lower output than what could be possible with the same amount of resources. We find evidence of a productivity differential between family and hired labour and highlight results consistent with the presence of adverse social network effects faced by households running a business, in particular ethnic minorities. We stress the importance of professional networks for successful entrepreneurship. |
| Abstract: | En utilisant un panel de microentreprises familiales au Vietnam, cet article met en relation le réseau social des entrepreneurs et de leur ménage avec la performance de la microentreprise familiale. Nous abordons deux questions connexes. La première examine la possibilité d'effets différenciés de l'emploi des membres de la famille par rapport à des travailleurs recrutés sur le marché du travail sur la performance de la microentreprise. Une deuxième question aborde les effets respectifs des différentes dimensions des réseaux sociaux sur l'efficience technique de la microentreprise. L'hypothèse testée est que, au-delà du canal de la productivité du travail, les entrepreneurs qui sont confrontés à un environnement social défavorable pourraient produire moins efficacement et réaliser une valeur ajoutée plus faible que ce qui pourrait être possible avec la même quantité de ressources. Nous montrons qu'il existe en effet un différentiel de productivité entre le travail familial et le travail recruté sur le marché, et nos résultats attestent de la présence d'effets défavorables du réseau social pour certains ménages gérant une microentreprise. Nous soulignons aussi l'importance des réseaux professionnels pour la réussite de l'entreprenariat familial. |
| Keywords: | Social network capital,Sharing norms,Informality,Household business,Vietnam,Family labour,Kinship and ethnic ties,Travail familial,Liens ethniques et de parenté,Normes de partage,Capital du réseau social,Informalité,Microentreprises familiales,Panel |
| Date: | 2017–10–19 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:hal:wpaper:hal-01619799&r=soc |
| By: | Hedman, Lina (Uppsala University); Manley, David (University of Bristol); van Ham, Maarten (Delft University of Technology) |
| Abstract: | Previous research has reported evidence of intergenerational transmission of both neighbourhood status and social and economic outcomes later in life; parents influence where their children live as adults and how well they do later in life in terms of their income. However, interactions between the individual, the childhood family and neighbourhood context and the neighbourhood experiences after leaving the parental home are often overlooked which might bias estimates of neighbourhood effects. It is likely that part of the effects attributed to neighbourhoods, are actually effects of the family in which someone was brought up. This study uses a sibling design to disentangle family and neighbourhood effects on income, and synthetic sibling pairs are used as a control group. The sibling design allows us to separate the effects of childhood family and neighbourhood contexts, but also between childhood neighbourhood effects and effects of the adult neighbourhood experiences. Using data from Swedish registers we show that the neighbourhood effect from both childhood and adult neighbourhood exposure is biased upwards by the influence of the family context. This leads to the conclusion that part of what appeared to be a neighbourhood effect was in fact a lasting family effect. Interestingly, we find that there is a long lasting effect of the family context on income later in life, and that this effect is strong regardless the individual neighbourhood pathway later in life. |
| Keywords: | siblings, non-random sorting, neighbourhood effects, family, income, longitudinal data |
| JEL: | I30 J60 R23 |
| Date: | 2017–11 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:iza:izadps:dp11178&r=soc |
| By: | Idrissa Diabate (Autre - non renseigné); Sandrine Mesplé-Somps (LEDa - Université Paris Dauphine (Paris 9)) |
| Abstract: | In this paper, we investigate how powerful a mechanism migration is in the transmission of socialnorms, taking Mali and Female Genital Mutilation (FGM) as a case study. Mali has a strong FGMculture and a long-standing history of migration. We use an original household-level database coupledwith census data to analyze the extent to which girls living in villages with high rates of returnmigrants are less prone to FGM. Malians migrate predominantly to other African countries wherefemale circumcision is uncommon (e.g. Côte d’Ivoire) and to countries where FGM is totally banned(France and other developed countries) and where anti-FGM information campaigns frequently targetAfrican migrants. Taking a two-step instrumental variable approach to control for the endogeneity ofmigration decisions, we show that return migrants have a negative and significant influence on FGM.We also show that adults living in villages with return migrants are more in favor of legislation againstFGM. |
| Abstract: | Dans cet article, nous examinons dans quelle mesure la migration est un vecteur de transferts denormes sociales en étudiant le lien entre migration et excision au Mali. Alors que l’excision estfortement répandue au Mali, ce pays a une forte tradition migratoire vers les pays limitrophes et lespays du Nord où l’excision est soit moins pratiquée soit sanctionnée par la loi. Nous testonsl’hypothèse que les migrants acquièrent des opinions différentes en la matière dans les pays d’accueiloù l’excision est moins fréquente voire interdite et qu’une fois de retour ils induisent un changementde comportement dans leurs villages d’origine. Nous mobilisons une base originale de données surl’excision des filles de 0 à 14 ans couplée avec des données de recensement qui permettent de mesurerles taux de migration (courante et de retour) des villages de résidence des personnes interrogées etmettons en oeuvre une méthode instrumentale pour contrôler de l’endogénéité de la migration. Nousmontrons que les migrants de retour ont effectivement une influence négative et significative sur lerisque d’excision et que ce résultat provient essentiellement des migrants de Côte d’Ivoire. Nousmontrons également que les adultes vivant dans les villages avec des migrants de retour sont plus enfaveur de la législation contre les mutilations génitales. |
| Keywords: | social transfers,migration,Female Genital Excision,Mali,Excision,transferts sociaux |
| Date: | 2017–10–16 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:hal:wpaper:hal-01617540&r=soc |
| By: | Daske, Thomas |
| Abstract: | In many firms, production requires the division of staff into teams. If only team performance is observable, moral hazard in teams is inevitable. This variant of moral hazard can be overcome or exacerbated by the interpersonal relationships among team members. I investigate how the division of staff into teams should account for the agents' social network of interpersonal relationships. Considering piece rate compensation for teams, I identify rules for efficient team assignment. Depending on the shape of individual effort costs, team assignment follows either a maximin or maximax rule with regard to team members' willingness to cooperate. Generally, the preferences of staff for team composition can collide with efficient production. A universal mechanism guaranteeing efficiency while delegating responsibility for team assignment to the agents does not exist. Successful staffing thus requires knowledge of the interpersonal relationships at work and, at times, control instead of delegation. |
| Keywords: | staffing,social preferences,social network,delegation,control |
| JEL: | D74 D82 D85 M54 |
| Date: | 2017 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:zbw:esprep:172493&r=soc |
| By: | Bredtmann, Julia; Nowotny, Klaus; Otten, Sebastian |
| Abstract: | This paper analyzes the interaction between migrant networks and linguistic distance in the location choice of migrants to the EU at the regional level. We test the hypothesis that networks and the ability to communicate in the host country language, proxied by linguistic distance, are substitutes in the location decision. Based on individual level data from a special evaluation of the European Labour Force Survey (EU-LFS) and a random utility maximization framework, we find that networks have a positive effect on the location decisions while the effect of linguistic distance is negative. We also find a strong positive interaction effect between the two factors: networks are more important the larger the linguistic distance between the home country and the host region, and the negative effect of linguistic distance is smaller the larger the network size. In several extensions and robustness checks, we show that this substitutable relationship is extremely robust. |
| Keywords: | Location choice,ethnic networks,linguistic distance,EU migration,multilateral resistance |
| JEL: | F22 J61 R23 |
| Date: | 2017 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:zbw:rwirep:725&r=soc |
| By: | Frédéric Docquier; Aysit Tansel; Riccardo Turati |
| Abstract: | This paper empirically investigates whether emigrants from MENA countries self-select on cultural traits such as religiosity and gender-egalitarian attitudes. To do so, we use Gallup World Poll data on individual opinions and beliefs, migration aspirations, short-run migration plans, and preferred destination choices. We find that individuals who intend to emigrate to OECD, high-income countries exhibit significantly lower levels of religiosity than the rest of the population. They also share more gender-egalitarian views, although the effect only holds among the young (aged 15 to 30), among single women, and in countries with a Sunni minority. For countries mostly affected by Arab Spring, since 2011 the degree of cultural selection has decreased. Nevertheless, the aggregate effects of cultural selection should not be overestimated. Overall, self-selection along cultural traits has limited (albeit non negligible) effects on the average characteristics of the population left behind, and on the cultural distance between natives and immigrants in the OECD countries. |
| Keywords: | international migration, self-selection, cultural traits, gender-egalitarian attitudes, religiosity, MENA region |
| JEL: | F22 O15 J61 Z10 |
| Date: | 2017 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:ces:ceswps:_6777&r=soc |