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on Social Norms and Social Capital |
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Issue of 2024‒04‒01
nine papers chosen by Fabio Sabatini, Università degli Studi di Roma “La Sapienza” |
| By: | Cristina Cattaneo; Daniela Gireco; Nicola Lacetera; Mario Macis |
| Abstract: | We study out-group biases in attitudes toward refugees, and the effect of European Union (EU) immigration policies on these views, using an online survey experiment including 4, 087 Italian participants. We assess attitudes using donations to a randomly assigned group: Italian victims of violence or refugees fleeing wars in Ukraine or African countries. We also employ a novel measure, the share donated in cash. While donations indicated less support for African and Ukrainian refugees compared to Italian victims, the cash measure revealed a stronger prejudice against distant out-groups, with participants giving African refugees a smaller proportion of cash donations. This result was mainly driven by individuals with right-leaning political views. Providing information about immigration policy reforms that give the EU a more substantial role in receiving and allocating refugees had no impact. Textual analysis supports these findings. |
| Keywords: | ingroup-outgroup relations, prejudice, refugees, EU immigration policies, survey experiments |
| JEL: | C99 D02 D64 J15 |
| Date: | 2024 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:ces:ceswps:_10950&r=soc |
| By: | Rönnbäck, Klas (Unit for Economic History, School of Business, Economics and Law, Göteborg University); Theodoridis, Dimitrios (Unit for Economic History, School of Business, Economics and Law, Göteborg University); Galli, Stefania (Unit for Economic History, School of Business, Economics and Law, Göteborg University) |
| Abstract: | In this article, we study what individual and social characteristics made it more likely for an individual to resist slavery. We employ a unique census from the Caribbean island of St. Croix in 1846, which allows us to study not only the characteristics of those that did resist slavery, but also of the whole enslaved population on the island. We analyze this data by using descriptive statistics as well as econometric analysis. Our findings show that relative deprivation played no role: individuals were as likely to resist slavery regardless of the relative status of the position they held. Resistance might have been more likely on small establishments, possibly the consequence of a greater level of trust among smaller groups of enslaved individuals. Gender also played a role in the types of resistance undertaken, and thereby possibly also in the risk of being detected and punished. |
| Keywords: | Resistance; repression; slavery; census; Danish West Indies; Caribbean |
| JEL: | J47 N36 |
| Date: | 2024–03–15 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:hhs:gunhis:0038&r=soc |
| By: | Dan Anderberg; Gordon B. Dahl; Christina Felfe; Helmut Rainer; Thomas Siedler |
| Abstract: | What makes diversity unifying in some settings but divisive in others? We examine how the mixing of ethnic groups in German schools affects intergroup cooperation and trust. We leverage the quasi-random assignment of students to classrooms within schools to obtain variation in the type of diversity that prevails in a peer group. We combine this with a large-scale, incentivized lab-in-field-experiment based on the investment game, allowing us to assess the in-group bias of native German students in their interactions with fellow natives (in-group) versus immigrants (out-group). We find in-group bias peaks in culturally polarized classrooms, where the native and immigrant groups are both large, but have different religious or language backgrounds. In contrast, in classrooms characterized by non-cultural polarization, fractionalization, or a native supermajority, there are significantly lower levels of own-group favoritism. In terms of mechanisms, we find empirical evidence that culturally polarized classrooms foster negative stereotypes about immigrants’ trustworthiness and amplify taste-based discrimination, both of which are costly and lead to lower payouts. In contrast, accurate statistical discrimination is ruled out by design in our experiment. These findings suggest that extra efforts are needed to counteract low levels of inclusivity and trust in culturally polarized environments. |
| Keywords: | in-group bias, discrimination, diversity |
| JEL: | J15 |
| Date: | 2024 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:ces:ceswps:_10965&r=soc |
| By: | Frost, Margaret; Kim, Sangeun; Scartascini, Carlos; Zamora, Paula; Zechmeister, Elizabeth J. |
| Abstract: | Political trust is foundational to democratic legitimacy, representative governance, and the provision of effective public policy. Various shocks can influence this trust, steering countries onto positive or negative trajectories. This study examines whether natural disasters can impact general political trust and if disaster relief efforts can mitigate these effects. We investigate the relationships between disaster, trust, and aid using novel survey data collected before and after a 7.1-magnitude earthquake struck Mexico City in September 2017. Our findings reveal that the disaster resulted in an 11% decrease in general political trust. Additionally, we demonstrate that geographical proximity to disaster relief efforts may counterbalance this decline in trust. This study contributes to the scholarship on the politics of disasters and offers policy implications, highlighting the role of disaster assistance in potentially restoring general political trust after a disaster. |
| Keywords: | Political trust;Natural Disaster;Natural experiment;Aid relief;Development |
| JEL: | H84 D72 Q54 Z13 |
| Date: | 2024–01 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:idb:brikps:13363&r=soc |
| By: | Barfuss, Wolfram (University of Bonn); Donges, Jonathan; Bethge, Matthias |
| Abstract: | Collective, cooperative action is critical to sustaining the commons safely away from dangerous tipping elements. Previous work has found a variety of mechanisms for the emergence of cooperation through social interactions. Yet, they cannot always work. Here, we present a theory of ecologically-mediated collective action in commons with tipping elements. We show that even without any direct social interactions, commons with tipping elements can result in a plurality of social incentive regimes, some beneficial for collective conservation, others detrimental. We underpin all incentive regimes with dynamic and boundedly rational collective reinforcement learning. We highlight how our theory can be applied to an ecologically-mediated governance of the commons. Our theory predicts the existence of social tipping points at which collective cooperation becomes self-enforcing and self-sustaining, enabled only by the actors' environmental embeddedness. |
| Date: | 2024–02–28 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:osf:osfxxx:7pcnm&r=soc |
| By: | Loewe, Markus; von Schiller, Armin; Zintl, Tina; Leininger, Julia |
| Abstract: | Social cohesion' and the 'social contract' are two related analytical concepts, which have become increasingly popular among researchers and practitioners. Both concepts help to understand and characterise societies and countries by shedding light on the relationships between members and groups of society and state institutions. Unfortunately, there is often little precision in the use of the concepts. As a result, their respective analytical strengths have not always been well utilised for policy analysis and project design. Furthermore, the synergies between them have been overlooked. This paper therefore defines both concepts, considers their respective strengths and discusses the relationship between them. The concept of the social contract emphasises the deliverables exchanged between societal groups and governing authorities. Social contracts are the sum of formal and informal agreements amongst societal actors and between them and the actor in power (the government or any other type of authority) on the rights and obligations of one towards the other. Social contracts vary enormously, but all establish more stability in state-society relations, especially if they are inclusive and flexible enough to account for changes in the framework conditions. The concept of social cohesion, in contrast, refers primarily to the quality of the relations between individuals, societal groups and the state, and the underlying values, norms and attitudes that shape these relationships. Social cohesion can be characterised as the glue that holds a society together and enables it to develop a shared vision. It concerns the horizontal relationships between members of society and the vertical relationships between societal actors and political institutions. Social contracts and social cohesion affect each other. Social contracts contribute to social cohesion because the regular and predictable exchange of deliverables between societal groups and the state creates an interdependence that strengthens mutual trust, willing-ness to cooperate and a sense of common identity. Conversely, social contracts tend to be more resilient and sustainable if they are based on cohesive societies. Both concepts are thus useful for national governments and foreign donors to assess opportunities and design policies for sustainable development. The social contract concept helps us to understand the 'give and take' in a country: it shows where governments could do better in delivering to society and thereby make state-society relations more stable. The social cohesion concept in turn helps to determine what holds societies together and which attributes of intra-society relations could or should be strengthened. In addition, both concepts assist foreign donors in assessing which interventions would be favourable for the internal relationships in partner countries and in thinking carefully about potential unintended harmful effects. In particular, international donors can benefit from exploiting the mutually enforcing relationship between social contract and social cohesion. |
| Keywords: | Social contract, social cohesion, Agenda 2030, protection, provision, political participation, trust, inclusive identity, common goods, co-operation |
| Date: | 2024 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:zbw:idospb:284724&r=soc |
| By: | Stefano Dughera (University of Piemonte Orientale); Alain Marciano (University of Torino) |
| Abstract: | James Buchanan advocated that societies should be based on a social contract. He rejected anarchy, seeing it as a “Hobbesian jungle” that calls for government intervention to maintain social order. He also opposed to theories of spontaneous order. These views led to debates about the compatibility of Buchanan’s works with classical liberalism, and even with democracy. This paper contributes to this discussion by exploring the development of Buchanan's views on anarchy from a historical viewpoint. We argue that Buchanan's earlier works contain a theory of spontaneous cooperation, and that Buchanan held to this theory until the 1970s. Then, the deteriorating conditions of American society got him convinced that albeit anarchy is theoretically desirable, cooperation requires individuals to enter a social contract and delegate enforcement authority to political institutions. Overall, the paper reconciles Buchanan's practical views with his philosophical inclinations, portraying him as a practical contractarian but a philosophical anarchist. |
| Keywords: | Buchanan; social contract; government intervention; anarchy; spontaneous order |
| JEL: | B53 H11 P26 |
| Date: | 2024–03 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:afd:wpaper:2403&r=soc |
| By: | Stephan Puehringer (Institute for Comprehensive Analysis of the Economy, Johannes Kepler University Linz, Austria); Georg Wolfmayr (Institute for European Ethnology, University of Vienna, Austria) |
| Abstract: | This paper develops a better understanding of the explicit and implicit implications of the academic field’s competitization, with a specific focus on the role that academic social networks and platforms (ASNPs) play in this process. By applying a mixed-methods approach combining a structural analysis and a questionnaire study, we compare ResearchGate, Google Scholar and Twitter and ask how and to what extent they contribute to the competitive subjectivation of their users. Therefore, we differentiate between suggested and enacted subjectivation, i.e., different levels of amplifying the self-perception of a ‘competitive self.’ We particularly find that ResearchGate, which is used by about two thirds of our respondents, offers a broad variety of tools for competitive subjectivation, yet all three ASNPs support the metric logic of individual research evaluation. Concerning differences in age, gender and disciplinary background, our results show that ASNPs are used more by younger and male researchers and these groups also perceive their work more competitively and act more competitively. While metric research evaluation is assessed as most important in the natural sciences and economics and rather unimportant in the humanities, social scientists especially perceive their work and their relation to colleagues in a competitive context. |
| Date: | 2023–12 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:ico:wpaper:150&r=soc |
| By: | Effrosyni Adamopoulou (ZEW, University of Mannheim, and IZA); Jeremy Greenwood (University of Pennsylvania); Nezih Guner (CEMFI, Centro de Estudios Monetarios y Financieros); Karen Kopecky (FRB Cleveland and Emory University) |
| Abstract: | The role of friends in the US opioid epidemic is examined. Using data from the National Longitudinal Survey of Adolescent Health (Add Health), adults aged 25-34 and their high school best friends are focused on. An instrumental variable technique is employed to estimate peer effects in opioid misuse. Severe injuries in the previous year are used as an instrument for opioid misuse in order to estimate the causal impact of someone misusing opioids on the probability that their best friends also misuse. The estimated peer effects are significant: Having a best friend with a reported serious injury in the previous year increases the probability of own opioid misuse by around 7 percentage points in a population where 17 percent ever misuses opioids. The effect is driven by individuals without a college degree and those who live in the same county as their best friends. |
| Keywords: | Opioid, peer-group effects, friends, instrumental variables, Add Health, severe injuries. |
| JEL: | C26 D10 I12 J11 |
| Date: | 2024–02 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:cmf:wpaper:wp2024_2403&r=soc |