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on Social Norms and Social Capital |
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Issue of 2026–06–29
nine papers chosen by Fabio Sabatini, Università degli Studi di Roma “La Sapienza” |
| By: | Laliberté, Jean-William (University of Calgary); Whalley, Alexander (University of Calgary) |
| Abstract: | We use matched parent-child-employer-employee data from Canada, linked to detailed educational records, to quantify the contribution of social connections to employers to intergenerational income mobility. Sorting across employers accounts for roughly a third of the transmission of income across generations. To estimate the impact of social connections on differential representation across employers, we compare classmates -- those with the same degree from the same institution -- who have different social connections. We find social connections in the labor market explain about 15% of the firm-sorting component of the intergenerational income rank-rank relationship, about a third the explanatory power of education. |
| Keywords: | social connections, intergenerational mobility |
| JEL: | J62 J31 J24 L25 E24 |
| Date: | 2026–05 |
| URL: | https://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:iza:izadps:dp18691 |
| By: | Bhattacharya, Prasad (Deakin University); Mukhopadhyay, Abhiroop (Indian Statistical Institute) |
| Abstract: | This paper investigates the impact of migrant inflows due to forced displacement events on the social capital in the recipient societies. We exploit the setting of Partition of India. Using data from districts in post 1947 India belonging to six states that saw a higher inflow of migrants, relative to outflow, we analyse how the ‘shock’ inflow of migrants affected social capital in the districts sixty years later. The shock is measured as the proportion of “displaced†migrants in Indian districts in 1951 from census data. Survey data conducted in 2007 indicates that social capital is lower in districts that received more Partition migrants. The effect remains strongly robust to spatial robustness checks, contemporary differences in a host of demographic and public goods provision indicators. We find that these effects are mediated through riots, community conflicts and violent crime that start from Partition sixty years ago and continue through to more recent times. We also find that political participation, a proxy for social capital, falls over time in districts which see a relatively larger flow of displaced migrants. Our study contributes to the understanding of the long run implications of large forced displacement events. |
| Keywords: | partition, social capital, forced displacement |
| JEL: | O15 N3 J61 Z13 |
| Date: | 2026–05 |
| URL: | https://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:iza:izadps:dp18685 |
| By: | Rupieper, Li Kathrin Kaja (Leibniz University Hannover); Thomsen, Stephan (Leibniz University Hannover) |
| Abstract: | This paper examines the effects of voluntary, non-formal adult education on political attitudes, participation, and partisanship, exploiting the expansion of courses at East German Volkshochschulen (VHS) after reunification. Combining administrative VHS data with individual survey data and federal election results, we use quasi-random variation in local course availability to identify causal effects in two-way fixed effects models. We find no significant impact on political attitudes and partisanship, suggesting that political socialization and ideologization play limited roles in adult education. Yet, courses significantly affect some forms of political participation, as they increase volunteering and reduce turnout. These effects are not driven by civic education courses. Further participatory behaviors remain unaffected. This variation in effects across participatory behaviors hints to a more complex relationship than commonly assumed: One may only understand the effect of adult education on political participation when understanding its effects on other areas of life as well, given the interplay of the productive and political roles of human capital. |
| Keywords: | lifelong learning, democracy, political participation, turnout, East Germany, German reunification |
| JEL: | H52 I26 N34 P20 |
| Date: | 2026–06 |
| URL: | https://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:iza:izadps:dp18729 |
| By: | Hu, Yan (Copenhagen Business School); Maurer, Stephan (UPF Barcelona School of Management) |
| Abstract: | Do minorities benefit from social networks? In this paper, we study this question using the historical example of China’s first modern bureaucratic organization, the Chinese Maritime Customs Service. Drawing on newly digitized personnel records from 1876-1911, we first show that the Chinese clerks employed by the service were predominantly Cantonese. Using the plausibly exogenous transfers of clerks across stations, we then estimate that a non-Cantonese (minority) clerk benefited significantly from meeting at least one colleague from his same province and dialect. Such connections led to faster promotion and a 5.6% salary increase, with even stronger effects when meeting a clerk who was either senior or of high quality. |
| Keywords: | Chinese Maritime Customs Service, social connections, wages, promotion, minorities |
| JEL: | J15 J31 J45 N35 N75 |
| Date: | 2026–05 |
| URL: | https://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:iza:izadps:dp18689 |
| By: | Gulzar, Saad (Notre Dame University); Khan, Muhammad (University of Pittsburgh); Sonnet, Luke (Independent Scholar) |
| Abstract: | Why does women’s political participation continue to lag behind men’s in much of the world? This paper argues that one reason for the political participation gap is a discrepancy between what people believe others think about women’s political participation and what those people actually think. Using data from 37 communities in Pakistan, we first show that expectations of norms around women’s political participation are more pessimistic than actual beliefs. Second, despite previous evidence that the household primarily structures women’s behavior in patriarchal societies, we find (1) that women’s social networks are distinct from those of men in their households and (2) that women’s pessimistic expectations about others’ beliefs are more strongly correlated with beliefs of socially proximate women than with men in their households. Efforts to reduce the gender gap in political participation may therefore benefit from targeting pessimistic expectations of norms and focusing on women’s distinct networks. |
| Keywords: | social norms, pluralistic ignorance, social networks, gender gap in voting |
| JEL: | J6 O12 D83 D85 D72 Z13 |
| Date: | 2026–06 |
| URL: | https://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:iza:izadps:dp18716 |
| By: | Darina Vorobeva (EM - EMLyon Business School); Ian J. Scott (Universidade Nova de Lisboa (Portugal, Lisbon) - NOVA); Tiago Oliveira (Universidade Nova de Lisboa (Portugal, Lisbon) - NOVA); Miguel Neto (Universidade Nova de Lisboa (Portugal, Lisbon) - NOVA) |
| Abstract: | Understanding how specific energy initiatives influence broader pro-environmental behavior is essential for advancing the sustainable energy transition. This study examines how individual-level factors shape the adoption of tools designed for Demand Response (DRT) and their spillover effects on participation in Energy Communities (EC). Specifically, it investigates the role of situational motivation, tech-confidence, and personal ecological norms in driving behavioral intention, DRT use, and subsequent EC participation. Drawing on survey data from 1807 energy consumers across three EU countries and applying partial least squares structural equation modeling (PLS-SEM), the results show that intrinsic motivation, identified regulation, and external regulation significantly influence behavioral intention, while amotivation has no significant effect. Perceived trust positively affects both behavioral intention and DRT use, whereas perceived security influences DRT use only. Behavioral intention strongly predicts both DRT use and EC participation, with DRT use further acting as a key driver of EC engagement. Personal ecological norms moderate all core relationships, strengthening the link between behavioral intention and EC participation; notably, among individuals with lower ecological norms, DRT use utilizes a stronger influence on EC participation, indicating a behavioral spillover from sustainable consumer-facing DRT use to collective engagement. Overall, this study contributes to the literature by integrating motivational theory with technology adoption and pro-environmental behavior in the context of DR and EC. The findings offer practical guidance for policymakers and practitioners seeking to design inclusive, effective, and socially grounded energy initiatives that support the energy transition. |
| Keywords: | demand response, ecological norm, energy community, motivation |
| Date: | 2026–06–01 |
| URL: | https://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:hal:journl:hal-05617990 |
| By: | Francesco Bianchi; Renato Faccini; Leonardo Melosi; Nils Wehrhöfer |
| Abstract: | We study how debt news shapes firms’ inflation expectations in a monetary union. In an active-control experiment, German firms receive optimistic or pessimistic projections of France, Italy, and Spain’s debt-to-GDP ratios. Pessimistic news raises debt beliefs and increases one- and three-year inflation expectations, with no detectable effect at five years. The response is driven by low-trust firms and by firms expecting relatively low ECB policy rates. A salient German debt-financed fiscal shock generates no comparable response. Within a Fisherian framework, the evidence suggests that debt news becomes inflationary when firms perceive incomplete fiscal backing and expect monetary accommodation. |
| JEL: | C93 D84 E31 E32 E62 |
| Date: | 2026–06 |
| URL: | https://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:nbr:nberwo:35341 |
| By: | Alice Chong (Graduate School of Economics, Waseda University, and Waseda Institute of Social & Human Capital Studies(WISH)); Hiroyuki Motegi (National Institute of Population and Social Security Research); Masato Oikawa (Faculty of Education and Integrated Arts and Sciences, Waseda University, and Waseda Institute of Social & Human Capital Studies (WISH)); Takumi Toyono (Waseda Institute of Social & Human Capital Studies (WISH)); Haruko Noguchi (Faculty of Political Science and Economics, Waseda University, and Waseda Institute of Social & Human Capital Studies (WISH)) |
| Abstract: | We provide causal evidence on whether working from home (WFH) enables workers to balance employment and eldercare, and how formal care infrastructure and gender norms shape this relationship. Exploiting Japan’s COVID-19-induced remote work expansion, we find striking heterogeneity: WFH increases caregiving among part-time workers with positive health effects, but among full-time employees, only women increase caregiving — and their health deteriorates. Greater formal care availability and progressive gender norms substantially attenuate these effects. Realizing the work-care balance benefits of workplace flexibility requires complementary investments in care infrastructure and progress toward gender equality. |
| Keywords: | working from home, informal caregiving, work-care balance, gender norms, long-term care, double burden, difference-in-differences (DID) |
| JEL: | I10 J14 J20 |
| Date: | 2026–04 |
| URL: | https://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:wap:wpaper:2601 |
| By: | Hutschenreiter, Dennis; Liu, Qianshuo |
| Abstract: | This paper examines whether common institutional ownership is associated with CEO connectedness across firms. We document that higher common ownership between two same-industry firms predicts a greater likelihood that a newly appointed CEO has preexisting social ties to the incumbent CEO of the peer firm. To address endogeneity, we use mergers among institutional investors in a stacked difference-in-differences design. In a hiring-firm-peer panel that carries connection status forward from the most recent appointment, exposure to a merger-induced common blockholder approximately doubles the probability that the pair is observed in a connected-CEO state. In a broader firm-pair panel, it increases the probability of CEO connections by 48.7%. We further document that gaining CEO connections through another firm's CEO appointment is associated with improvements in peer firms' returns on assets and Tobin's Q, in both OLS and IV specifications. Peer firms that gain such a connection also experience positive abnormal returns around other firms' CEO hiring announcements, corresponding to an average increase of $112.5 million in shareholder value. These performance patterns suggest that CEO connections may be valuable from a portfolio-level perspective. Consistent with this interpretation, the association between common ownership and CEO connections is concentrated among product-similar and organizationally complex firms and strengthens after the 2008-2009 financial crisis, when connections appear more valuable. Our findings point to CEO connection as a potential governance channel through which common institutional ownership is linked to firm outcomes, complementing prior work on executive compensation, shareholder voting, and board interlocks. |
| Keywords: | CEO connections, CEO selection, common ownership, corporate governance, firm performance |
| JEL: | G23 G32 G34 |
| Date: | 2026 |
| URL: | https://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:zbw:iwhdps:341627 |