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on Social Norms and Social Capital |
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Issue of 2018‒12‒03
ten papers chosen by Fabio Sabatini Università degli Studi di Roma “La Sapienza” |
| By: | Child, Travers Barclay; Nikolova, Elena |
| Abstract: | We study the long-run effects of con ict on social attitudes, with World War II in Central and Eastern Europe as our setting. Much of earlier work has relied on self- reported measures of victimization, which are prone to endogenous misreporting. With our own survey-based measure, we replicate established findings linking victimization to political participation, civic engagement, optimism, and trust. Those findings are reversed, however, when tested instead with an objective measure of victimization based on historical reference material. Thus, we urge caution when interpreting survey- based results from this literature as causal. |
| Keywords: | conflict,social attitudes,World War II |
| JEL: | D74 N44 P20 |
| Date: | 2018 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:zbw:glodps:279&r=soc |
| By: | Míguez, Daniel; Dewey, Matías |
| Abstract: | A growing body of research, based on large-scale international comparisons, has associated socioeconomic development with several intervening factors, such as levels of respect for social norms, interpersonal trust, degrees of confidence in public institutions, or incidence of corruption in governmental bodies. The paper contributes to this body of scholarship by comparing the differing socioeconomic development experienced by Chile and Argentina between 1983 and 2013. Specifically, the paper inquires whether the greater socioeconomic development experienced by Chile was actually related to greater legitimacy of the law, higher levels of trust in public institutions, lower perceived levels of corruption, and greater interpersonal trust. The results of our exploration do not completely confirm or disprove this thesis. Instead, they reveal not only the need for a nuanced approach to how these factors relate to socioeconomic progress but also for their forms of association to be considered in the context of politically, socially, and economically fluctuating conditions. |
| Keywords: | Argentina,Chile,corruption,development,fiscal policy,norms,trust,Argentinien,Entwicklung,Korruption,Normen,Steuerpolitik,Vertrauen |
| Date: | 2018 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:zbw:mpifgd:189&r=soc |
| By: | Jens Ruhose; Stephan L. Thomsen; Insa Weilage |
| Abstract: | We propose a regression-adjusted matched difference-in-differences framework to estimate non-pecuniary returns to adult education. This approach combines kernel matching with entropy balancing to account for selection bias and sorting on gains. Using data from the German SOEP, we evaluate the effect of work-related training, which represents the largest portion of adult education in OECD countries, on individual social capital. Training increases participation in civic, political, and cultural activities while not crowding out social participation. Results are robust against a variety of potentially confounding explanations. These findings imply positive externalities from work-related training over and above the well documented labor market effects. |
| Keywords: | non-pecuniary returns, social capital, work-related training, matched difference-in-differences approach, entropy balancing |
| JEL: | J24 I21 M53 |
| Date: | 2018 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:ces:ceswps:_7268&r=soc |
| By: | Francisco J. Medina-Albaladejo (Universidad de Valencia, Spain); María Dolores Añón-Higón (Universidad de Valencia, Spain); Alfonso Díez-Minguela (Universidad de Valencia, Spain); José Miguel Lana-Berasain (Universidad Pública de Navarra, Spain) |
| Abstract: | Different factors have been proposed to explain why in some regions there is a greater tendency to form cooperatives. Although the debate remains open, the literature offers several interpretations. On the one hand, some studies have stressed the role played by human capital, market access and institutions, among other factors, while other studies have pointed to path dependence, that is to say, the development of social capital and trust within a society in the past encourages cooperation. Disentangling both effects is far from trivial and requires a careful analysis. In this study, we look at the spread of cooperativism within Catalonia from 1860 to 1939. Catalonia was not just the leading industrial region in Spain, but also where cooperatives first emerged and had a greater presence. In line with the existing evidence, we find that cooperativism spread from coastal municipalities to the hinterland. In this regard, it appears that literacy and accessibility facilitated this process. Besides, social capital cannot be discarded as a relevant factor, especially in rural contexts. |
| Keywords: | Cooperatives, Human Capital, Social Capital, Knowledge Transfer, Catalonia |
| JEL: | P13 Z13 N9 N3 |
| Date: | 2018–11 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:ahe:dtaehe:1808&r=soc |
| By: | Libertad González Luna; Núria Rodríguez-Planas |
| Abstract: | We study the effect of social gender norms on the incidence of domestic violence. We use data for 28 European countries from the 2012 European survey on violence against women, and focus on first and second generation immigrant women. We find that, after controlling for country of residence fixed effects, as well as demographic characteristics and other source-country variables, higher gender equality in the country of ancestry is significantly associated with a lower risk of victimization in the host country. This suggests that gender norms may play an important role in explaining the incidence of intimate partner violence. |
| Keywords: | domestic violence, gender, social norms, immigrants, epidemiological approach |
| JEL: | I1 J6 D1 |
| Date: | 2018–10 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:upf:upfgen:1620&r=soc |
| By: | Arnaud Chevalier; Benjamin Elsner; Andreas Lichter; Nico Pestel |
| Abstract: | This paper studies the impact of immigration on public policy setting. We exploit the sudden arrival of eight million forced migrants in West Germany after WWII. These migrants were poorer than the local population but had full voting rights and were eligible for social welfare. We show that cities responded to this shock with selective tax raises and shifts in spending. Voting data suggests that these changes were partly driven by the immigrants’ political influence. We further document a strong persistence of the effect. The initial migration shock changed the preferences for redistribution of the following generations. |
| Date: | 2018 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:diw:diwsop:diw_sp994&r=soc |
| By: | Ruxanda Berlinschi; Jan Fidrmuc |
| Abstract: | This paper proposes a theory of migration decisions in which cultural traits play a role. Individuals are assumed to value comfort (high wages) and conformity (interactions with individuals who share similar world views). Regions are assumed to differ economically (average wages) and culturally (average world views and their diversity). The model shows that self-selection of inter-regional migrants on world views is non-monotonic if one region is more diverse than the other, and it weakens with economic gaps between regions. This non-monotonicity can lead to a dichotomy of outcomes: culturally diverse regions become even more diverse because of migration, while culturally homogeneous regions become even more homogeneous. Consequently, Tieboutian sorting (people moving to the region in which world views are closer to theirs) only holds when regions have similar wages and diversity of world views. |
| Keywords: | migration, self-selection, culture, diversity, Tiebout model |
| JEL: | A13 F22 J61 Z10 |
| Date: | 2018 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:ces:ceswps:_7294&r=soc |
| By: | Alberto Alesina (Department of Economics, Harvard University, IGIER Bocconi, NBER and CEPR); Michela Carlana (Harvard Kennedy School and IZA); Eliana La Ferrara (Department of Economics, IGIER and LEAP, Bocconi University); Paolo Pinotti (Department of Social and Political Sciences at Bocconi University, DONDENA, and Fondazione Rodolfo Debenedetti) |
| Abstract: | If individuals become aware of their stereotypes, do they change their behavior? We study this question in the context of teachers' bias in grading immigrants and native children in middle schools. Teachers give lower grades to immigrant students compared to natives who have the same performance on standardized, blindly-graded tests. We then relate differences in grading to teachers' stereotypes, elicited through an Implicit Association Test (IAT). We find that math teachers with stronger stereotypes give lower grades to immigrants compared to natives with the same performance. Literature teachers do not differentially grade immigrants based on their own stereotypes. Finally, we share teachers' own IAT score with them, randomizing the timing of disclosure around the date on which they assign term grades. All teachers informed of their stereotypes before term grading increase grades assigned to immigrants. Revealing stereotypes may be a powerful intervention to decrease discrimination, but it may also induce a reaction from individuals who were not acting in a biased way. |
| Keywords: | immigrants, teachers, implicit stereotypes, IAT, bias in grading |
| JEL: | I24 J15 |
| Date: | 2018–11 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:crm:wpaper:1817&r=soc |
| By: | Michal Bauer; Jana Cahlikova; Dagmara Celik Katreniak; Julie Chytilova; Lubomir Cingl; Tomas Zelinsky |
| Abstract: | This paper provides strong evidence supporting the long-standing speculation that decisionmaking in groups has a dark side, by magnifying the prevalence of anti-social behavior towards outsiders. A large-scale experiment implemented in Slovakia and Uganda (N=2,309) reveals that deciding in a group with randomly assigned peers increases the prevalence of anti-social behavior that reduces everyone’s payoff but which improves the relative position of own group. The effects are driven by the influence of a group context on individual behavior, rather than by group deliberation. The observed patterns are strikingly similar on both continents. |
| Keywords: | antisocial behavior; aggressive competitiveness; group membership; group decision-making; group conflict; |
| JEL: | C92 C93 D01 D64 D74 D91 |
| Date: | 2018–11 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:cer:papers:wp632&r=soc |
| By: | Veettil, P.C.; Devi, A.; Gupta, I. |
| Abstract: | The potential gain from the agricultural technologies can be realized only if it is adopted and disseminated in a short period of time. There are many factors which affect the rate of adoption and diffusion of technologies, both at macro and micro level. Social learning and social networks play a critical role in adoption of technologies as the adoption decisions of a farmer may be influenced by the others in his social network. Caste is a key factor which influences the decisions of people in Indian society. This study focuses on such caste based social networks and examines the role of caste based social networks and other farm level determinants on the varietal turnover of rice. Within caste social networks found to act as a barrier for faster replacement of varieties. Identifying and programming with caste based local leadership as nodes of varietal dissemination may be an effective extension strategy. Acknowledgement : We acknowledge funding support for this research provided by the Global Futures and Strategic Foresight (GFSF) project and CGIAR Research Program on Policies, Institutions, and Markets (PIM) led by IFPRI. The contents and opinions expressed herein are those of the authors and do not necessarily reflect the views of IRRI, PIM, IFPRI, and CGIAR. The usual disclaimer applies. |
| Keywords: | Labor and Human Capital |
| Date: | 2018–07 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:ags:iaae18:277172&r=soc |