|
on Social Norms and Social Capital |
|
Issue of 2025–11–17
eight papers chosen by Fabio Sabatini, Università degli Studi di Roma “La Sapienza” |
| By: | Sascha O. Becker; Jeanet Sinding Bentzen; Chun Chee Kok |
| Abstract: | This paper provides a survey of the literature on gender differences in religiosity and the influence of religion on gender-related economic and social outcomes. Part I examines why women tend to be more religious than men, discussing central explanations. Part II explores how religion impacts various gender-related outcomes, such as gender norms and attitudes, education, labor market participation, fertility, health, legal institutions and reforms, and discrimination. Within each domain, we distinguish between effects driven by individual religiosity (intensity of religious practice or belief) and those driven by their religious denomination. We synthesize findings from numerous studies, highlighting data sources, measures of religion and gender outcomes, and empirical strategies. We focus on studies with credible causal identification—such as natural experiments, instrumental variable approaches, and policy changes—to uncover the impact of religion on outcomes. Correlational studies are also reviewed to provide context. Across studies, the evidence suggests that religious teachings and participation often reinforce traditional gender roles, affecting women’s education, labor force participation, and fertility choices, although there are important nuances and exceptions. We also document instances where secular reforms or religious movements have altered these outcomes. The survey concludes by identifying gaps in the literature and suggesting directions for future research. An important take-away from our review is that rigorous empirical studies are scarce, leaving room for novel causal studies in this field. |
| Keywords: | gender gap, religion, religiosity, gender norms, education, fertility, labor markets, cultural transmission |
| JEL: | Z12 J16 J24 I21 J13 Z13 |
| Date: | 2025 |
| URL: | https://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:ces:ceswps:_12256 |
| By: | Bruno Martorano; Laura Metzger; Patricia Justino; Francesco Iacoella |
| Abstract: | We study whether exposure to social movements campaigning against income and gender income inequality shifts individual beliefs about inequality, reshapes preferences for redistribution, and translates into political participation in the UK. Since the Great Recession of the 2010s, the UK has seen significant growth in social movements, particularly those mobilizing against inequality. We focus on income and gender income inequality, two persistent and politically contested forms of inequality in advanced democracies like the UK. Responses to social movements can diverge sharply between them. |
| Keywords: | Social movement, Income inequality, Gender inequality, Redistribution, Political participation, Survey, United Kingdom |
| Date: | 2025 |
| URL: | https://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:unu:wpaper:wp-2025-83 |
| By: | Moustapha Sarr; Noémi Berlin; Tarek Jaber-Lopez |
| Abstract: | In a lab-in-the-field experiment, we investigate the influence of social norms on 300 parents’ beliefs regarding the nutritional quality of food items and their subsequent food choices. We use a 3 × 2 between-subject experimental design where we vary two factors: 1-the social norm provided to parents: a descriptive norm (what other parents choose) vs. an injunctive norm (what other parents approve of), and 2-the recipient of the food decisions made by parents: their own child vs. an unknown child. Parents participate in a two-stage process. In the first stage, we elicit their beliefs regarding the nutritional quality of various food items and ask them to make a food basket without specific information. In the second stage, based on their assigned treatment, they receive specific information and repeat the belief elicitation and the food basket selection tasks. We find that only the descriptive norm significantly reduces parents’ overestimation rate of items’ nutritional quality. Injunctive norm significantly improves the nutritional quality of both, the parent’s and child’s baskets. Descriptive norm significantly improves the nutritional quality of child’s baskets only when parents are choosing for unknown child. |
| Keywords: | social norms, information provision, food choices, food beliefs, parent, child |
| JEL: | C93 D12 D91 |
| Date: | 2025 |
| URL: | https://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:drm:wpaper:2025-42 |
| By: | Martin Nerlinger (University of St. Gallen - School of Finance; Swiss Finance Institute); Martin Rohleder (University of Augsburg); Marco Wilkens (University of Augsburg); Jonas Zink |
| Abstract: | We examine what drives institutional engagement and voting on ESG-related shareholder proposals, using data from PRI and Morningstar. We find that personal engagement often substitutes for voting, especially among large fund families and those using meetings or site visits. Funds that vote more often or disclose less are less supportive of ESG proposals, while those filing proposals or outsourcing votes show more support. Collaborative engagement and longer PRI membership correlate with stronger ESG voting. Though engagement-active funds don't show major ESG performance gains, they increasingly support firms' ESG improvements, highlighting the role of active ownership in promoting sustainability. |
| Keywords: | active ownership, voting, engagement, disclosure, service providers |
| JEL: | G10 G23 M14 Q54 |
| Date: | 2025–10 |
| URL: | https://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:chf:rpseri:rp2589 |
| By: | Gema Lax-Martinez; Marco Le Moglie; Matteo Sandi |
| Abstract: | Social norms play a critical role in society. This paper studies how difficult it is to manipulate social norms and whether efforts to do so may result in a backlash. We study the 1945 reform of primary education implemented under Franco’s regime in Spain, which promoted nationalist-religious values and emphasized women’s domestic roles. Exploiting plausibly exogenous variation in exposure between birth cohorts, we show that women exposed to the reform have fewer children and tend to reject the regime’s promoted gender norms. These findings highlight the unintended long-term consequences that state-led efforts to engineer social norms can generate. |
| Keywords: | education, fertility |
| JEL: | I21 J13 N44 |
| Date: | 2025 |
| URL: | https://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:ces:ceswps:_12251 |
| By: | Brioschi, Alessandro |
| Abstract: | This paper investigates how kinship and professional networks shaped labour market outcomes in early modern Genoa. Using a newly constructed dataset of over 8, 000 apprenticeship contracts (1450-1530), I examine the extent to which kinship ties with masters or guild members influenced both entry into apprenticeship and the probability of attaining mastership. Using a probabilistic record linkage strategy to reconstruct career trajectories, I show that apprentices with kinship ties to insiders were significantly more likely to become masters, received shorter contracts and enjoyed better contractual and training conditions. These advantages persisted even during periods of economic contraction, suggesting that apprenticeship functioned not only as an open mechanism for human capital formation but also as a selective filter reinforcing occupational stratification. The findings contribute to debates on the role of guilds in pre-industrial labour markets, offering empirical support for the view that social networks limited access to skilled work and upward mobility. |
| Keywords: | Apprenticeship, Labour Markets, Guilds, Mastership, Social Networks, Early Modern Italy |
| JEL: | J62 J24 N33 N93 |
| Date: | 2025 |
| URL: | https://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:zbw:qucehw:330674 |
| By: | Bertoli, P.;; Grembi, V.;; Slegerova, L.; |
| Abstract: | We investigate the role of gender norms in explaining variations in the incidence of hysterectomies (i.e., removal of uterus) for benign conditions, the second most common surgical procedure after a cesarean section for women. Using data from Italy-a country with a degree of heterogeneous gender norms-we show that the more traditional the perception of the female role is, the higher the incidence of hysterectomies for benign conditions for women in older cohorts . We attribute these results to the fact that the uterus is associated with reproductive function and not with gender identity. To support this interpretation, we show how gender norms are negatively correlated with the incidence of both mastectomies (i.e., removal of the breast) and prostatectomies for benign conditions (i.e., removal of the prostate) for men. To test the role of gender norms in explaining some of these avoidable procedures, we exploit the impact of the introduction of automatic constraints on healthcare expenditures triggered by the adoption of so-called regional repayment plans. Using a staggered difference-in-differences approach, we show that the introduction of a repayment plan reduced the incidence of hysterectomies for benign conditions by 4-8%, depending on the age group, but less so in regions with more conservative gender norms. |
| Keywords: | hysterectomy; gender norms; |
| JEL: | I11 I18 J16 |
| Date: | 2025–11 |
| URL: | https://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:yor:hectdg:25/09 |
| By: | Albrecht, Sabina; , Danyelle; Dolnicar, Sara (The University of Queensland) |
| Abstract: | The warm glow of charitable and environmentally sustainable actions has received much attention in the academic literature. Some studies suggest the power of the feel-good effect of doing good is severely underrated as a driver of human behaviour. This study curbs the enthusiasm by evaluating whether different forms of warm glow change behaviour across online and field experimental studies. Second-hand clothes shopping is the setting of our investigation because multiple forms of warm glow apply. Behaviour change toward reuse is highly desirable to lower the negative environmental impact of the fashion industry. In line with prior research, we find promising evidence in survey studies that priming the warm glow effect of second-hand shopping could increase second-hand shopping by up to 16%. However, when tested in a field study involving second-hand charity shops, messages communicating the warm glows of second-hand shopping performed no better than a general attention-generating message. Our study shows that charitable and environmentally sustainable behaviour does generate warm glow, but that the perception of warm glow might not be enough to motivate purchasing behaviours. |
| Date: | 2025–11–05 |
| URL: | https://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:osf:socarx:jgec8_v1 |