|
on Social Norms and Social Capital |
Issue of 2025–01–20
nine papers chosen by Fabio Sabatini, Università degli Studi di Roma “La Sapienza” |
By: | Christoph Feldhaus; Lukas Reinhardt; Matthias Sutter |
Abstract: | In a democracy, it is essential that citizens accept rules and laws, regardless of which party is in power. We study why citizens in polarized societies resist rules implemented by political opponents. This may be due to the rules’ specific content, but also because of a general preference against being restricted by political opponents. We develop a method to measure the latter channel. In our experiment with almost 1, 300 supporters and opponents of Donald Trump, we show that polarization undermines rule-following behaviour significantly, independent of the rules’ content. Subjects perceive the intentions behind (identical) rules as much more malevolent if they were imposed by a political opponent rather than a political ally. |
Keywords: | political polarization, social identity, outgroup, economic preferences, experiment |
JEL: | C91 D90 D91 |
Date: | 2024 |
URL: | https://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:ces:ceswps:_11485 |
By: | Begoña Cabeza Martínez (European Commission, Joint Research Centre); Béatrice d’Hombres (European Commission, Joint Research Centre); Matija Kovacic (European Commission, Joint Research Centre (JRC); Global Labor Organization (GLO); Ca’ Foscari University of Venice) |
Abstract: | The rapid rise of social media has transformed communication and raised concerns about its societal impact, particularly on mental health and well-being. Using data from a novel EU-wide survey, this study investigates the association between social media usage, loneliness, and emotional distress among young people across 27 European member states. We find that intensive use of social networking sites correlates positively with loneliness and emotional distress, whereas excess use of messaging tools plays a very limited role. These findings are robust to alternative measures of loneliness and emotional distress and to a variety of model specifications. Young adults who either grew up with smartphones during their teenage years or their twenties are particularly vulnerable to excessive use of social network sites. Further analysis suggests that the harmful effects of excessive social networking site consumption may arise from its predominantly passive nature, while instant messaging tools, which primarily involve active engagement, do not exhibit this detrimental impact. |
Keywords: | loneliness; mental well-being; social media use; Europe |
JEL: | L82 D91 I12 I31 |
Date: | 2024 |
URL: | https://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:ven:wpaper:2025:01 |
By: | Tamilina, Larysa; Ma, Wenting |
Abstract: | Conflicts generate profound shocks that destabilize political systems and erode the legitimacy of governing regimes. In the context of Ukraine, these adverse effects have taken on a distinct form, referred to here as the "Ukrainian Syndrome." The phenomenon describes the paradoxical coexistence of a strong belief in the democratic regime with a significant distrust in the political institutions that uphold it. This study seeks to explain the Ukrainian Syndrome by examining the processes of institutional trust formation. The analysis is based on data from a nationally representative survey conducted in November 2024, utilizing fsQCA as the primary methodological framework. The findings reveal that individuals tend to base their trust in political institutions on pragmatic evaluations of institutional performance, largely disregarding ideological commitments to democracy or optimism about Ukraine’s long-term statehood in these assessments. As a result, Ukrainians' aspirations for and commitment to democratic governance persist independently of their trust in democratic institutions. |
Keywords: | Trust, institutions, democracy, Ukraine, fsQCA. |
JEL: | C1 K4 P2 |
Date: | 2024–12–15 |
URL: | https://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:pra:mprapa:123112 |
By: | Muringani, Jonathan; Dahl Fitjar, Rune; Rodríguez-Pose, Andrés |
Abstract: | This paper examines the complex relationship between political and social trust, government quality, and economic development across 208 regions in the European Union (EU). We use a pooled data generalized structural equation model (GSEM) to show that political trust serves as a fundamental driver of regional economic development in the EU. Political trust is, in turn, influenced by both social trust and government quality. Social trust and government quality have quadratic effects on political trust, showing diminishing returns, while the effect of political trust on economic development is linear. Political trust mediates the relationship between social trust and economic development entirely, while government quality retains a direct relationship with economic development. These findings underscore the fundamental role that political trust plays as a mechanism through which both formal and informal institutions shape regional development. |
Keywords: | political trust; social trust; quality of government; regional economic development; EU |
JEL: | R11 H11 D73 |
Date: | 2024–12 |
URL: | https://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:ehl:lserod:125630 |
By: | Lee, Hane; Davison, Andrew; Ying, Zhiliang |
Abstract: | Congressional literature suggests that the motivations behind roll call votes are complex, spanning the legislator's ideology, party strategies, and social influences. In terms of methodology, latent factor models have dominated roll call analysis, where the estimated "ideal points" are interpreted as the legislators' partisan-ideological positions, but these models do not account for partisan or social motivations behind the votes. On the other hand, some researchers have explored the social influence behind these votes using network models, but this approach often overlooks the role of ideology or parties. We address this gap by integrating the partisan-ideological and social approaches through a fused latent factor and social network model. This model decomposes the effects of partisan-ideology and social connections on roll call votes while giving priority to the former. Additionally, our method provides a direct measurement of social ties from roll call votes, rather than relying on proxies such as cosponsorship to first estimate the social effect and later make connections to political outcomes. We apply our model to the 101st Senate and find that the model successfully decomposes ideology and partisanship from social ties. The estimated social network captures notable friendships and geographical communities. We also demonstrate that cosponsorship and shared committee membership, commonly viewed as indicators of social connections, are either closely aligned with the legislator's revealed partisan-ideological preferences or have minimal legislative impact. |
Date: | 2024–11–25 |
URL: | https://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:osf:osfxxx:6euf3 |
By: | Toshihiro Okubo; Ilan Noy |
Abstract: | The COVID-19 vaccines played a pivotal role in safeguarding populations. Yet, vaccine hesitancy remained a significant barrier to increasing coverage rates, as many high-income countries faced prolonged vaccine refusal campaigns. In Japan, vaccine doses were administered under a reservation system accessible via a website and by phone. Achieving a high vaccination coverage for a vaccine that was offered at no financial cost was still surprisingly difficult in Japan. In many countries, vaccine hesitancy during the pandemic has been closely related to people's trust in their governments given governments’ controversial social distancing mandates. In Japan, lockdowns were voluntary, and vaccinations were also not mandated. As there were no significant political conflicts about the government’s policies, vaccination acceptance was influenced by more basic tenets, and here we focus here on social capital, defined as cohesive resources that enable a society to function effectively. Social capital, in this context, refers to community trust, collaboration, and engagement that create social bonds between individuals and society. Using a unique, large, survey, administered repeatedly through the years of the pandemic, we mostly found support, for the hypothesis that social capital matters for the vaccination decision; and that it matters even once we control for institutional trust (especially trust in the medical system). However, this general association between trust in other community members, trust in the willingness of community members to engage in reciprocal assistance, and trust in the more general willingness of the community to support individuals, were all associated differently with the vaccination decision, and with the views about vaccinations. From a policy perspective, this suggests that the Japan case both exposes the relevance of trust in government, in other circumstances, but also shows that intra-community trust (i.e., social capital), is important even in contexts when governmental trust is not a significant issue. |
Keywords: | vaccine, Covid-19, social capital, trust |
JEL: | I12 |
Date: | 2024 |
URL: | https://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:ces:ceswps:_11540 |
By: | Gaganis, Chrysovalantis; Leledakis, George N.; Pasiouras, Fotios; Pyrgiotakis, Emmanouil G. |
Abstract: | We use a comprehensive cross-country sample to investigate whether and how the country-level social capital influences the firm-level stock price crash risk. We document a negative and statistically significant effect, which is robust to various tests including IV estimations that account for endogeneity concerns. When we disaggregate social capital into its various components, we find that the results are driven by civic and social participation, institutional trust, and family relationships, whereas social networks and interpersonal trust do not appear to matter. Furthermore, we find that the impact of social capital is channeled through firm-level reporting opacity and price informativeness. Finally, the impact of social capital on stock price crash risk is moderated by formal institutions, like property rights and law and order. |
Keywords: | Stock price crash risk; Social capital; Informal institutions; Formal institutions |
JEL: | G0 G12 G14 G15 Z13 |
Date: | 2024–11 |
URL: | https://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:pra:mprapa:122896 |
By: | Henning Hermes; Marina Krauß; Philipp Lergetporer; Frauke Peter; Simon Wiederhold |
Abstract: | This field experiment investigates the causal impact of mothers’ perceptions of gender norms on their employment attitudes and labor-supply expectations. We provide mothers of young children in Germany with information about the prevailing gender norm regarding maternal employment in their city. At baseline, over 70% of mothers incorrectly perceive this gender norm as too conservative. Our randomized treatment improves the accuracy of these perceptions, significantly reducing the share of mothers who misperceive gender norms as overly conservative. The treatment also shifts mothers’ own labor-market attitudes towards being more liberal—and we show that specifically the shifted attitude is a strong predictor of mothers’ future labor-market participation. Consistently, treated mothers are significantly more likely to plan an increase in their working hours one year ahead. |
Keywords: | gender norms, maternal employment, gender equality, randomized controlled trial |
JEL: | J16 J18 J22 C93 |
Date: | 2024 |
URL: | https://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:ces:ceswps:_11572 |
By: | Wu, Han (HEC Paris); Li, Yi (Central South University); Hope, Ole-Kristian (University of Toront); Liu, Qiliang; Cai, Hong |
Abstract: | Despite a strong investor and social demand for firms to disclose information on political connections, mandatory disclosure requirements face considerable opposition. Given the challenges in enforcing mandatory disclosures, we investigate whether private information acquisition can be a viable alternative to disclosure. Using a setting of corruption investigations, we find that investors, on average, are not aware that the firms they have invested in have connections with the officials under investigation, suggesting a lack of visibility of the connections. However, a small number of institutional investors exploit their private access to information and sell their shares in response to the investigations. We also show that the high costs of information acquisition and a lack of incentives for analysts to disseminate sensitive information they have obtained contribute to this lack of visibility and result in a significant delay in retail investors’ reaction to material information. Our study contributes to the debate on mandating disclosure of political connections by showing that the lack of mandatory disclosure results in an uneven playing field that undermines transparency and fairness. |
Keywords: | Political connections; Visibility; China; Information Acquisition; Price Incorporation |
JEL: | M41 |
Date: | 2024–03–23 |
URL: | https://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:ebg:heccah:1511 |