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on Social Norms and Social Capital |
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Issue of 2024‒04‒08
seven papers chosen by Fabio Sabatini, Università degli Studi di Roma “La Sapienza” |
| By: | Luca Anderlini (Department of Economics, Georgetown University); Larry Samuelson (Yale University); Daniele Terlizzese (Einaudi Institute for Economics and Finance) |
| Abstract: | We examine an economy in which interactions are more productive if agents can trust others to refrain from cheating. Some agents are scoundrels, who always cheat, while others cheat only if the cost of cheating, a decreasing function of the proportion of cheaters, is sufficiently low. The economy exhibits multiple equilibria. As the proportion of scoundrels in the economy declines, the high-trust equilibrium can be disrupted by arbitrarily small perturbations or infusions of low-trust agents, while the low-trust equilibrium becomes impervious to perturbations and infusions of high-trust agents. The resilience of trust may thus hinge upon the prevalence of scoundrels. |
| Keywords: | Trust, Robustness, Fragility, Assimilation, Disruption |
| JEL: | C72 C79 D02 D80 |
| Date: | 2024–03–18 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:geo:guwopa:gueconwpa~24-24-02&r=soc |
| By: | Yvonne Giesing; Björn Kauder; Lukas Mergele; Niklas Potrafke; Panu Poutvaara |
| Abstract: | We examine how cultural norms shape attitudes toward immigration. Our causal identification relies on comparing students who moved across the East-West border after German reunification with students who moved within former East Germany. Students who moved from East to West became more positive toward immigration. Results are confirmed among students whose move was plausibly exogenous due to national study place allocation mechanisms. Evidence supports horizontal transmission as the difference between East-West movers and East-East movers increases over time and is driven by East German students who often interacted with fellow students. Effects are stronger in less xenophobic West German regions. |
| Keywords: | cultural transmission, migration, attitudes toward immigration, German division and unification, political socialization |
| JEL: | D72 D91 J15 J20 P20 P51 Z10 |
| Date: | 2024 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:ces:ceswps:_10985&r=soc |
| By: | Katherine Carman (RAND); Samer Atshan (RAND); Jhacova Williams (American University) |
| Abstract: | In this paper, we develop a new survey that seeks to better understand how differences in information sources (both formal and informal) across racial and ethnic groups contribute to knowledge and planning for retirement. We consider several scenarios where people might be eligible for Social Security benefits in times of need and seek to understand where individuals turn for information in these scenarios. Overall, we find that there are a wide variety of information sources that people approach in these times. Notably, different racial and ethnic groups expect to make use of different information sources. Furthermore, knowledge is associated with where people turn for information. To address disparities in knowledge, information campaigns could consider differentiating channels of information to better engaged less well-informed groups. This research doesn’t identify a single information source that would reach all people. |
| Date: | 2023–01 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:mrr:papers:wp458&r=soc |
| By: | Matías Braun; Francisco Gallego; Rodrigo R. Soares |
| Abstract: | This paper examines the effects of renovating deteriorated public spaces on local socioeconomic outcomes. We analyze the impacts of a randomized experiment implemented in 28 fragile neighborhoods of Santiago, Chile. Our findings indicate that the renovation of local squares led to increased use and maintenance of the public space, enhanced neighborhood engagement, and a stronger sense of ownership among residents, along with a reduction in leisure activities outside the neighborhood. Moreover, treated neighborhoods experienced improvements in public security perceptions both within the square and in the broader neighborhood area. We also observe positive effects on trust (among acquaintances) and participation in community organizations. By exploring heterogeneous treatment effects across neighborhoods, we do not find evidence supporting theories emphasizing the joint determination of public security and social capital. Instead, our results suggest that the effects are better explained by increased neighborhood use, particularly in areas that are densely populated and have a higher proportion of social housing. |
| Keywords: | public space recovery, crime, social capital, urban infrastructure |
| JEL: | K42 O18 R53 |
| Date: | 2023 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:ioe:doctra:571&r=soc |
| By: | Wolfgang Stojetz; Neil T. N. Ferguson; Ghassan Baliki; Sarah Fenzl; Patricia Justino; Tilman Brück |
| Abstract: | We study how the stringency of policy measures to counter the COVID-19 pandemic affects individuals' trust in formal institutions. Drawing on micro-level panel data from Germany spanning an 18-month period from the onset of the pandemic, we show that, on average, there is a pronounced negative relationship between the stringency level of COVID-19 countermeasures and trust in institutions. We present empirical evidence to argue that the underlying mechanism is a perceived illegitimate attack on civil liberties, reducing trust in the judiciary in particular. |
| Keywords: | COVID-19, Pandemic, Crisis, Survey data, Trust, Institutions |
| Date: | 2024 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:unu:wpaper:wp-2024-14&r=soc |
| By: | Reynaud, Arnaud; Ouvrard, Benjamin |
| Abstract: | We examine the influence of perceived social norms on the adoption by French farmers of eco-schemes (ES), a new type of direct monetary compensation provided by the EU Common Agricultural Policy to farmers who voluntarily adopt sustainable agricultural practices. Using a representative large scale web-survey, we show that French farmers hold inaccurate beliefs about their peers on various dimensions of the ES. Farmers are then randomly exposed to norm-based informational treatments where we vary the type of truthful information released about their peers. In addition to being able to assess the direct causal impact of the treatments, our between-subject design allows us to analyze cross-learning effects: providing information on the beliefs of peers may not only induce farmers to update their beliefs about their object of interest, but may also change their beliefs about other outcome variables. We demonstrate that norm-based informational treatments may modify:(i) farmers’ personal opinion regarding the ES; (ii) farmers’ beliefs about their peers regarding the ES; and (iii) that cross-learning effects may matter. While changes in beliefs are shown to be consistent with Bayesian-updating, we demonstrate that their causal effects may strongly depend upon the specific nature of the belief under consideration. |
| Keywords: | Beliefs; Misperception; Informational treatment; Norms; Agriculture |
| JEL: | D81 D83 D84 C9 Q18 |
| Date: | 2024–03 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:tse:wpaper:129191&r=soc |
| By: | Engdahl, Mattias (IFAU - Institute for Evaluation of Labour Market and Education Policy); Willis, Sébastien (Uppsala University and Uppsala Center for Labor Studies); Åslund, Olof (Uppsala University, IFAU, UCLS, CReAM, IZA.) |
| Abstract: | We study how professional networks are related to immigrant labour market integration. Matched employer-employee data for Sweden show that networks grow with time in the host country and that their composition changes from immigrant toward native network members. A firm-dyadic analysis of re-employment of displaced workers suggests that conational connections have a much larger positive effect than native connections. However, the employment effect of native connections grows with years since migration. Furthermore, native connections tend to be associated with higher earnings and increased hires in connected local industries. After 20 years in Sweden, the built-up connections raise immigrant re-employment rates by 0.7 to 1.1 percentage points, amounting to 10–20 percent of the observed difference by years since migration. Our findings indicate complete assimilation in the total productivity of professional connections for displaced workers. |
| Keywords: | labour market integration of immigrants; networks; job search |
| JEL: | J15 J20 J60 |
| Date: | 2024–03–21 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:hhs:ifauwp:2024_009&r=soc |