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on Social Norms and Social Capital |
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Issue of 2026–10–26
eight papers chosen by Fabio Sabatini, Università degli Studi di Roma “La Sapienza” |
| By: | Bernardo Candia; Olivier Coibion; Dimitris Georgarakos; Yuriy Gorodnichenko; Maarten van Rooij |
| Abstract: | CORRECT ORDER OF AUTHORS: van Rooij, Coibion, Georgarakos, Candia, Gorodnichenko. How does perceived relative income affect household behavior and well-being? We use a randomized information experiment in a representative panel of Dutch households to generate exogenous variation in beliefs about peers' income. Lower perceived relative standing shifts expenditure toward durable goods but we find little evidence of an increase in total spending. Higher perceived relative income increases socializing and substantially raises happiness, while lower relative income increases subsequent employment. Relative standing also shapes views about inequality and redistribution. A complementary vignette experiment provides supporting evidence on mechanisms. Overall, peer comparisons matter for behavior and well-being even when total spending responses are small. |
| Keywords: | peer effects; randomized controlled trial; surveys |
| JEL: | D1 D3 D6 E21 |
| Date: | 2026–10–09 |
| URL: | https://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:fip:fedcwq:103918 |
| By: | Leonardo Bursztyn (The University of Chicago; Department of Economics; NBER); Rafael Jiménez-Durán (Bocconi University); Aaron Leonard (The University of Chicago); Filip Milojević (Massachusetts Institute of Technology); Christopher Roth (University of Cologne; Department of Economics) |
| Abstract: | Several countries are adopting social media bans for teenagers, yet early evidence suggests limited adherence to the age-based restrictions. Such bans ask platforms to remove profitable customers and teens to give up access to their online social networks. We study an alternative regulatory regime in which platforms remain liable for teens on the adult tier but may offer a safe tier that removes restricted features, such as algorithmic feeds, while preserving interactions with their relevant network. Provision of the safe tier and enforcement are complementary: teens can adhere without giving up access to their network, and platforms can retain displaced adult-tier users as lower-margin customers. This policy design makes the teen decision to avoid the adult tier less dependent on peer dynamics and increases teen welfare for a relevant range of regulatory penalties. |
| JEL: | D18 D62 L51 L86 |
| Date: | 2026–10 |
| URL: | https://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:bfi:wpaper:2026-129 |
| By: | Ludek Kouba (Department of Economics, Faculty of Business and Economics, Mendel University in Brno, Czech Republic); Michal Madr (Department of Economics, Faculty of Business and Economics, Mendel University in Brno, Czech Republic) |
| Abstract: | While previous studies link social capital to environmental attitudes, we take a step further and ask whether trust translates into actual behaviour — voting for a Green party. We propose a post-materialist values channel through which social capital relates to Green electoral support, and examine it across European regions in one of the first studies of trust and observed electoral behaviour. Unlike most work, which relates survey-based attitudes to survey-based vote intentions, our dependent variable is real behaviour: the regional vote share of 41 European Green parties in parliamentary elections (2002–2022), matched with regional trust indicators from the European Social Survey. The estimations confirm our hypothesis that higher trust relates positively to Green electoral results, with highly statistically significant and robust associations for social, institutional, and international trust. A one-standard-deviation rise in regional social trust is associated with a 0.1-standard-deviation rise in Green support. In addition, post-materialist attitudes appear more important than redistributive preferences, and these associations are stronger in high-trust regions. This suggests that, in 21st-century Europe, typical Green voters are less oriented towards the left than previously thought and more driven by post-materialist values. |
| Keywords: | Social capital; trust; attitudes; post-materialist values; Green parties; parliamentary elections; European regions |
| JEL: | A13 D72 P16 |
| Date: | 2026–10 |
| URL: | https://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:men:wpaper:115_2026 |
| By: | Abel François; Nicolas Lagios; Pierre-Guillaume Méon |
| Abstract: | Can shared experiences across nations foster people’s attachment to a community beyond the nation-state? The answer is a priori ambiguous: international events bring nations together around a common frame, but they also set them against one another. To answer this question, we study the Eurovision Song Con- test, an annual competition broadcast to a large transnational audience and organized around shared European values. Comparing respondents surveyed just before and after their country’s participation in the show, we find that the contest raises European identification, which complements national identity rather than substituting for it. The effect persists over time and is independent of the outcome of the event. Regarding mechanisms, we show that Eurovision changes the values individuals attribute to Europe without changing their own values, and identification increases when the two align. Importantly, the event has electoral consequences: in countries that narrowly qualify for the final, votes in European Parliament elections shift toward more pro-European parties. |
| Keywords: | National identity; Supranational identity; Regional integration; Voting; Shared experiences; European integration; Eurovision Song Contest |
| JEL: | D72 D83 D91 Z13 |
| Date: | 2026–10–12 |
| URL: | https://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:sol:wpaper:2013/415112 |
| By: | Emre Kurt (University of Insubria); Hao Wei (Friedrich Schiller University Jena) |
| Abstract: | This paper examines whether migrants and native-born workers respond differently to pension reforms that encourage longer working lives. Using longitudinal data from SHARE Waves 4–9 for Germany and Spain, we construct individual reform exposure based on country-specific reform timing, birth-cohort eligibility, and proximity to retirement age, and estimate models with individual and survey-wave fixed effects. Reform exposure is associated with a lower probability of retirement, with suggestive evidence of an additional decline among migrants. This migrant differential is particularly pronounced in Spain, while the corresponding estimate is small and statistically insignificant in Germany, although formal cross-country tests do not establish a statistically significant difference between the two countries. Complementary analyses indicate that adjustment is concentrated around retirement ages rather than reflecting a broad increase in employment, while evidence for effects on mental health and generalized trust is limited. Overall, the findings suggest that migrants may respond differently to pension reform, but that these differences are concentrated at specific retirement margins and depend on the institutional context |
| Keywords: | Migration, Retirement, Mental Health, Generalized Trust, SHARE |
| JEL: | J14 J15 J26 H55 |
| Date: | 2026–10–13 |
| URL: | https://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:jrp:jrpwrp:2026-013 |
| By: | Olivier Arsene (EESC-GEM - Grenoble Ecole de Management); Claudio Vitari (EESC-GEM - Grenoble Ecole de Management) |
| Abstract: | This study examines trust in decentralized digital health by distinguishing two trust objects: the health information technology (HIT) artefact and the Health Software Provider (HSP) organization. Based on 25 semi-structured interviews with self-employed physicians, medical secretaries, and IT support staff in France, we conduct a theory-informed thematic analysis using system trust antecedents (functionality, helpfulness, reliability) and organizational trustworthiness dimensions (competence, benevolence, integrity). Findings show that physicians primarily ground trust in artefact performance and workflow fit, whereas provider trustworthiness is assessed more indirectly through support responsiveness, update strategies, pricing practices, and the translation of regulatory mandates into software defaults. We theorize inscription-based inference as the mechanism through which artefact evolution shapes attributions of provider trustworthiness under opacity and regulation. This explains why continued use can be misread as provider loyalty when artefact and provider trust are conflated, even as organizational trust erodes under high switching costs, informing governance and design choices. |
| Abstract: | Cette étude examine comment la confiance se construit et s'affaiblit dans la santé numérique décentralisée en distinguant deux cibles de confiance : l'artefact de technologie de l'information en santé et l'organisation éditrice. À partir de 25 entretiens semi-directifs menés en France auprès de médecins libéraux, de secrétaires médicales et de professionnels du support informatique, nous conduisons une analyse thématique informée par la théorie. Nous mobilisons des antécédents de la confiance envers les systèmes (fonctionnalité, utilité, fiabilité) et des dimensions de la confiance organisationnelle (compétence, bienveillance, intégrité). Les résultats montrent que les médecins ancrent surtout la confiance dans la performance de l'artefact et son adéquation au flux de travail, tandis que la confiance envers l'éditeur est inférée via la réactivité du support, les stratégies de mise à jour, les pratiques tarifaires et la traduction des exigences réglementaires en réglages par défaut. Nous théorisons l'inscription comme mécanisme d'enchevêtrement, expliquant pourquoi l'usage continu peut relever davantage d'une contrainte plutôt que d'une confiance stable et nous proposons des recommandations permettant aux éditeurs de logiciels de développer des stratégies de confiance pérennes. |
| Keywords: | Health Information Technology, Self-employed Medicine, Physicians, Operational Trust, Organizational Trust, Healthcare Ecosystem, Digital Health Ecosystem, Technologies de l’information en santé, Écosystème numérique de santé, Écosystème de santé, Confiance organisationnelle, Confiance opérationnelle, Médecins, Médecine libérale |
| Date: | 2026–05–20 |
| URL: | https://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:hal:journl:hal-05789307 |
| By: | Michael Andrews; Ryan Hill; Joseph Price; Riley Wilson |
| Abstract: | We study how childhood neighbors influence occupational choices and later-life earnings. Using linked census records for over 10 million children and historic census sheet microgeography, we find that growing up next door to someone in a given occupation increases the probability of being in that occupation as an adult by 10 percent relative to other children on the same street. The transmission effect is higher with more intense exposure, more connected neighborhoods, and between more similar families. Exposure to high-income or highly educated neighbors has lasting economic effects, leading to significant gains in adult income and education. |
| Keywords: | neighborhood networks, peer effects, occupational transmission |
| JEL: | J24 J62 N32 |
| Date: | 2026 |
| URL: | https://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:ces:ceswps:_13051 |
| By: | Sofia Amaral; Girija Borker; Nishith Prakash; Maria Micaela Sviatschi |
| Abstract: | Frontline state agents exercise substantial discretion over citizens’ access to public services, yet little is known about whether the attitudes and beliefs shaping this discretion can be changed among incumbent bureaucrats. Partnering with the Bihar Police - one of India’s largest states that operates under comparatively severe policing capacity constraints, we conduct a cluster randomized controlled trial across 417 police stations and roughly 2, 500 active duty senior field police officers to evaluate a three-day expressive arts intervention, grounded in the Theatre of the Oppressed, designed to change police responses to gender-based violence (GBV). Approximately 7 months after baseline, treated officers exhibit more favorable attitudes toward GBV, greater empathy, and stronger legal knowledge. These changes translate into observed policing behavior: in standardized victim audits conducted one year later, officers in treated stations are 15 percentage points less likely to blame victims, dismiss fewer complaints, and provide more referrals, while administrative records show a 41 percent reduction in registration delays and, over a longer horizon, increased GBV reporting by citizens. Exploiting variation generated by officer transfers, we find suggestive evidence that these effects persist when treated officers relocate and diffuse to untreated officers working alongside treated colleagues. The effects also extend to the workplace: junior female officers working with treated senior officers report lower harassment and anxiety. These findings show that the attitudes shaping bureaucratic discretion are malleable and that changing how incumbent state agents exercise authority can improve both citizen-facing service delivery and the broader workplace environment. |
| Keywords: | police, gender-based violence, state capacity, bureaucratic discretion, gender attitudes, workplace spillovers |
| JEL: | J16 K42 J45 D73 D91 C93 |
| Date: | 2026 |
| URL: | https://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:ces:ceswps:_13050 |