|
on Social Norms and Social Capital |
|
Issue of 2022‒10‒17
eight papers chosen by Fabio Sabatini Università degli Studi di Roma “La Sapienza” |
| By: | Serena Canaan; Antoine Deeb; Pierre Mouganie |
| Abstract: | Religious divisions have long played a primary role in major conflicts throughout much of the world. Intergroup contact may increase trust between members of different religions. However, evidence on how inter-religious contact affects individuals’ behavior towards one another is scarce. We examine this question in the setting of a four-year university in Lebanon, a country with a long history of deep divisions and armed conflicts between religious groups. To identify causal effects, we exploit the university’s random assignment of first-year students to peer groups. We proxy students’ religious backgrounds by whether they attended secular, Christian or Islamic high schools—the last of which have the most religiously homogeneous student body. Results indicate that for students from Islamic high schools, exposure to peers from different religious backgrounds decreases their enrollment in courses taught by instructors with distinctively Muslim names, suggesting that contact improves trust towards members of other religions. Moreover, we show that students from Islamic schools experience improvements in GPA when interacting with those from other groups, while exposure to Islamic students reduces secular students’ academic performance. |
| Keywords: | diversity, religious schools, intergroup contact |
| JEL: | I23 J15 Z12 P00 |
| Date: | 2022 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:ces:ceswps:_9896&r= |
| By: | Lídia Farré; Cristina Felfe; Libertad González; Patrick Schneider |
| Abstract: | Direct exposure to counter-stereotypical behaviors early in life has been put forward as a promising way to change gender norms across generations. We ask to which extent public policy designed to promote counter-stereotypical behavior among parents influences gender norms for their children. Specifically, we combine the national-level introduction of paternity leave in Spain with a unique, large-scale lab-in-the-field experiment conducted with children born around the policy change. We provide causal evidence that, at age 12, children whose fathers were eligible for paternity leave exhibit more egalitarian attitudes towards gender roles and are more supportive of mothers and fathers being equally engaged in the labor market and in the home. They also engage more in counter-stereotypical day-to-day behaviors and expect to deviate from the male-breadwinner model in the future. |
| Keywords: | gender role attitudes, paternity leave, Social Norms |
| JEL: | J08 J13 J16 J18 |
| Date: | 2022–01 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:bge:wpaper:1310&r= |
| By: | Pierfrancesco Rolla; Patricia Justino |
| Abstract: | Organized crime affects security, development, and democracy worldwide, but not much is known about its social consequences. We study how exposure to the presence of organized crime groups shapes the social capital of Italian citizens, including political participation, civic engagement, and institutional and interpersonal trust. To address this question, we first leverage a survey of almost 800,000 respondents on social capital and exposure to organized crime conducted in Italy between 2000 and 2018. |
| Keywords: | Crime, Social capital, Italy |
| Date: | 2022 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:unu:wpaper:wp-2022-106&r= |
| By: | Gianmarco León-Ciliotta; Dijana Zejcirovic; Fernando Fernandez |
| Abstract: | Trust in institutions is a key driver of the demand for government services, and in turn, the way these services are delivered affects trust. We study a large-scale family planning campaign in which more than 300,000 Peruvian women were sterilized. Many of these are alleged to have been performed without appropriate or informed consent. Using a difference-in-difference strategy, we show that subsequent disclosures about the alleged sterilizations reduced usage of contraceptive methods, pre-natal and birth delivery services, and –more generally– the demand for medical services and that child health worsened as a result. The results persist for at least 17 years after the information disclosure and are mainly driven by those who strongly supported the government at baseline, i.e. disappointed voters, and not by those who share demographic characteristics with the alleged victims. Learning about government mistreatment of citizens undermined trust in institutions. Our results highlight the relevance of how policies are implemented and communicated to citizens for ensuring their long-term success. |
| Keywords: | trust, public policy, reproductive health |
| JEL: | O10 I14 I18 N36 |
| Date: | 2022–06 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:bge:wpaper:1352&r= |
| By: | Antonio Cabrales; Manu García; David Ramos Muñoz; Angel Sánchez |
| Abstract: | We study the evolution of interest about climate change between different actors of the population, and how the interest of those actors affect one another. We first document the evolution individually, and then provide a model of cross influences between them, that we then estimate with a VAR. We find large swings over time of said interest for the general public by creating a Climate Change Index for Europe and the US (CCI) using news media mentions, and little interest among economists (measured by publications in top journals of the discipline). The general interest science journals and policymakers have a more steady interest, although policymakers get interested much later. |
| Keywords: | climate change, social norms, text analysis, social networks |
| JEL: | Q54 Q58 D85 A13 |
| Date: | 2022 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:ces:ceswps:_9905&r= |
| By: | Tang, Can; Zhao, Zhong |
| Abstract: | Using a national representative sample, the China Family Panel Studies, this paper explores the influences of clan culture, a hallmark of Chinese cultural history, on the prevalence of child labor in China. We find that clan culture significantly reduces the incidence of child labor and working hours of child laborer. The results exhibit strong boy bias, and are driven by boys rather than girls, which reflects the patrilineal nature of Chinese clan culture. Moreover, the impact is greater on boys from households with lower socioeconomic status, and in rural areas. Clan culture acts as a supplement to formal institutions: reduces the incidence of child labor through risk sharing and easing credit constraints, and helps form social norms to promote human capital investment. We also employ an instrument variable approach and carry out a series of robustness checks to further confirm the findings. |
| Keywords: | Informal institution,Clan culture,Child labor,China |
| JEL: | J22 J81 O15 |
| Date: | 2022 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:zbw:glodps:1174&r= |
| By: | Michel Grabisch (CES - Centre d'économie de la Sorbonne - UP1 - Université Paris 1 Panthéon-Sorbonne - CNRS - Centre National de la Recherche Scientifique, PSE - Paris School of Economics - UP1 - Université Paris 1 Panthéon-Sorbonne - ENS-PSL - École normale supérieure - Paris - PSL - Université Paris sciences et lettres - EHESS - École des hautes études en sciences sociales - ENPC - École des Ponts ParisTech - CNRS - Centre National de la Recherche Scientifique - INRAE - Institut National de Recherche pour l’Agriculture, l’Alimentation et l’Environnement, UP1 - Université Paris 1 Panthéon-Sorbonne); Antoine Mandel (CES - Centre d'économie de la Sorbonne - UP1 - Université Paris 1 Panthéon-Sorbonne - CNRS - Centre National de la Recherche Scientifique, PSE - Paris School of Economics - UP1 - Université Paris 1 Panthéon-Sorbonne - ENS-PSL - École normale supérieure - Paris - PSL - Université Paris sciences et lettres - EHESS - École des hautes études en sciences sociales - ENPC - École des Ponts ParisTech - CNRS - Centre National de la Recherche Scientifique - INRAE - Institut National de Recherche pour l’Agriculture, l’Alimentation et l’Environnement, UP1 - Université Paris 1 Panthéon-Sorbonne); Agnieszka Rusinowska (CES - Centre d'économie de la Sorbonne - UP1 - Université Paris 1 Panthéon-Sorbonne - CNRS - Centre National de la Recherche Scientifique, PSE - Paris School of Economics - UP1 - Université Paris 1 Panthéon-Sorbonne - ENS-PSL - École normale supérieure - Paris - PSL - Université Paris sciences et lettres - EHESS - École des hautes études en sciences sociales - ENPC - École des Ponts ParisTech - CNRS - Centre National de la Recherche Scientifique - INRAE - Institut National de Recherche pour l’Agriculture, l’Alimentation et l’Environnement, CNRS - Centre National de la Recherche Scientifique) |
| Abstract: | We propose a model of the joint evolution of opinions and social relationships in a setting where social influence decays over time. The dynamics are based on bounded confidence: social connections between individuals with distant opinions are severed while new connections are formed between individuals with similar opinions. Our model naturally gives raise to strong diversity, i.e., the persistence of heterogeneous opinions in connected societies, a phenomenon that most existing models fail to capture. The intensity of social interactions is the key parameter that governs the dynamics. First, it determines the asymptotic distribution of opinions. In particular, increasing the intensity of social interactions brings society closer to consensus. Second, it determines the risk of polarization, which is shown to increase with the intensity of social interactions. Our results allow to frame the problem of the design of public debates in a formal setting. We hence characterize the optimal strategy for a social planner who controls the intensity of the public debate and thus faces a trade-off between the pursuit of social consensus and the risk of polarization. We also consider applications to political campaigning and show that both minority and majority candidates can have incentives to lead society towards polarization. |
| Keywords: | opinion dynamics,network formation,network fragility,polarization,institution design,political campaign |
| Date: | 2022–07–02 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:hal:pseptp:hal-03770884&r= |
| By: | Abbey Steele; Michael Weintraub |
| Abstract: | Rebels, militias, and criminal groups all govern civilians. Governing strategies adopted by armed groups during civil war likely influence citizens' post-conflict political participation, with consequences for democratic politics. We theorize that an armed group's position relative to the state (anti-state or pro-state) and governing ideology (sharing governing responsibilities with local institutions or destroying them to govern centrally) interact to influence citizens' later choices about political participation. |
| Keywords: | Armed conflict, Governance, Wartime governance, Political participation, Civil conflict, Colombia, Household survey |
| Date: | 2022 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:unu:wpaper:wp-2022-98&r= |