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on Social Norms and Social Capital |
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Issue of 2026–08–24
eight papers chosen by Fabio Sabatini, Università degli Studi di Roma “La Sapienza” |
| By: | Acemoglu, Daron; Robinson, James A. |
| Abstract: | This paper proposes a new framework for studying the interplay between culture and institutions. We interpret culture as a repertoire, consisting of (cultural) attributes and allowing rich cultural responses to political changes. Combinations of attributes produce cultural configurations, which provide social meaning, coordination and political justification. Our framework has several distinctive features. First, it proposes a “systems approach" to culture: the meaning and function of attributes are determined within the whole configuration and political equilibrium. Second, it emphasizes discontinuous or “saltational" changes in culture – rather than gradual, evolutionary changes – as attributes are reconnected and acquire new meanings in response to evolving circumstances and as outcomes in ongoing "cultural struggles". Third, our framework puts the spotlight on how fluidly different cultures can respond to conditions, depending on the nature of their attributes and constraints on their connections. Finally, it enriches the study of the co-determination of political, institutional and cultural outcomes. |
| Keywords: | Attributes; Culture; Discontinuity; Fluidity; Institutions |
| JEL: | P16 P50 O10 |
| Date: | 2024–09 |
| URL: | https://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:cpr:ceprdp:19518 |
| By: | Barrios Fernandez, Andres; Neilson, Christopher; Zimmerman, Seth |
| Abstract: | Do elite colleges help talented students join the social elite, or help incumbent elites retain their positions? We combine intergenerationally-linked data from Chile with a regression discontinuity design to show that, looking across generations, elite colleges do both. Lower-status individuals who gain admission to elite college programs transform their children’s social environment. Children become more likely to attend highstatus private schools and colleges, and to live near and befriend high-status peers. In contrast, academic achievement is unaffected. Simulations combining descriptive and quasi-experimental findings show that elite colleges tighten the link between social and human capital while decreasing intergenerational social mobility. |
| JEL: | I24 D64 J62 |
| Date: | 2024–09 |
| URL: | https://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:cpr:ceprdp:19431 |
| By: | Fergusson, Leopoldo; Guerra, José-Alberto; Robinson, James A. |
| Abstract: | Since formal rules can only partially reduce opportunistic behavior, third-party sanctioning to promote fairness is critical to achieving desirable social outcomes. Social norms may underpin such behavior, but they can also undermine it. We study one such norm —the “don’t be a toad†norm, as it is referred to in Colombia— that tells people to mind their own business and not snitch on others. In a set of fairness games where a third party can punish unfair behavior, but players can invoke the “don’t be a toad†norm, we find that the mere possibility of invoking this norm completely reverses the benefits of third-party sanctioning to achieve fair social outcomes. We establish this is an anti-social norm in a well-defined sense: most players consider it inappropriate, yet they expect the majority will invoke it. To understand this phenomenon we develop an evolutionary model of endogenous social norm transmission and demonstrate that a payoff advantage from adherence to the norm in social dilemmas, combined with sufficient heterogeneity in the disutility of those who view the norm as inappropriate, can generate the apparent paradox of an anti-social norm in the steady-state equilibrium. We provide further evidence that historical exposure to political violence, which increased the ostracization of snitches, raised sensitivity to this norm. |
| Keywords: | Social norms; Fairness; long-run effects of conflict; Laboratory experiment |
| JEL: | C91 D30 D91 D74 N46 |
| Date: | 2024–09 |
| URL: | https://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:cpr:ceprdp:19519 |
| By: | Johanna Einsiedler; Nikolaj Arpe Harmon; David Dreyer Lassen; Andreas Bjerre-Nielsen |
| Abstract: | A large literature uses exogenous variation to estimate how assignment to classrooms or other groups shapes social networks. Yet most of these analyses remain dyadic, treating each link in isolation, even though ties often form through triadic closure, as a friend of a friend also becomes a friend. Using fine-grained data on phone calls, text messages, physical co-location, and social-media ties, we estimate the network formation effects of randomly assigning first-year university students to classrooms and to smaller social groups. To analyze explicitly whether group assignment interact with triadic closure, we use our random assignment to estimate a subgraph generated model of network formation. Accounting for triadic closure turns out to be crucial. For social groups in particular, group assignment affects network formation almost entirely by inducing additional triadic closure. Estimates ignoring triadic closure can thus yield misleading predictions about the network effects and benefits of group assignment policies. |
| Date: | 2026–07 |
| URL: | https://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:arx:papers:2607.17926 |
| By: | Anna Adamecz (UCL Social Research Institute; ELTE Centre for Economic and Regional Studies); Hubert János Kiss (ELTE Centre for Economic and Regional Studies; Corvinus University of Budapest) |
| Abstract: | This paper investigates whether adolescents’ core self-evaluation (CSE), a broad personality construct capturing individuals’ appraisal of their self-worth and capabilities, predicts interpersonal trust decades later. Using nationally representative longitudinal data from the 1970 British Cohort Study, we construct CSE measures from self-esteem, locus of control, and emotional stability at age 16 and examine their relationship with trust reported at ages 34, 42, 46, and 50. We find that higher adolescent CSE is consistently and positively associated with greater trust in others later in life. Each component of CSE independently predicts trust, and the composite index shows robust associations even after controlling for demographic background, cognitive skills, and early mental health. The estimated associations are comparable in magnitude to those between trust and cognitive ability. They are stable over time and are not explained by selection to the sample, educational attainment, labour market success, or family formation. Importantly, we find that the relative importance of CSE components varies by adolescent mental health: locus of control is more predictive among individuals with better mental health, while emotional stability plays a stronger role among those with elevated depressive symptoms. These findings underscore the long-term social relevance of core self-evaluation and highlight its importance as a psychological antecedent of trust. |
| Keywords: | Interpersonal trust; Core self-evaluation; Personality traits; Longitudinal analysis; 1970 British Cohort Study; Non-cognitive skills |
| JEL: | D01 D91 J19 |
| Date: | 2025–09 |
| URL: | https://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:has:discpr:2513 |
| By: | Fons-Rosen, Christian; Manchin, Miriam; Szemeredi, Katalin |
| Abstract: | This paper evaluates how trust among affiliates determines the structure of business groups and, in turn, shapes firm productivity. After confirming that greater business group verticality is a desirable trait as it is associated with higher firm productivity, we develop a theoretical model on how bilateral trust impacts group verticality. Testing our predictions on a large European sample, we find that business groups with higher average trust between members have more vertical and complex structures. In addition, firm-level estimations reveal that being a trustworthy affiliate in the business group correlates both with being located in a layer closer to the headquarter and also with greater firm productivity. Results are robust to using somatic and linguistic distance as instruments for bilateral trust. |
| Keywords: | Trust |
| JEL: | F23 M14 L21 L22 |
| Date: | 2024–08 |
| URL: | https://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:cpr:ceprdp:19417 |
| By: | Hubert János Kiss (ELTE Centre for Economic and Regional Studies; Corvinus University of Budapest); Alfonso Rosa-García (Universidad de Murcia) |
| Abstract: | We study whether political regime type is associated with public attitudes toward artificial intelligence (AI). Using nationally representative surveys from 47 countries (2024–2025) and the EIU Democracy Index as our primary measure of regime quality, we relate democracy to three outcomes: AI acceptance, perceived trustworthiness and trust in AI. We find a negative association between democracy and all three outcomes that attenuates yet persists after adding country-level sociodemographics and AI literacy. Results are robust to alternative regime measures and to replacing contemporaneous democracy with lagged democracy measured prior to the AI boom. They also hold when accounting for cultural differences using an individualism–collectivism index. Finally, we show that democracy partly accounts for the AI acceptance premium recently documented in emerging countries. |
| Keywords: | AI acceptance, AI literacy, Cross-country survey, Democracy, Political regime, Trust in AI, Trustworthiness of AI |
| JEL: | C21 D83 O33 P50 Z10 |
| Date: | 2025–09 |
| URL: | https://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:has:discpr:2515 |
| By: | Hu, Yan; Maurer, Stephan |
| 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: | 2025 |
| URL: | https://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:zbw:cexwps:342438 |