Cultured People
Cultural Remittances and Modern Fertility
Mickael Melki et al.
NBER Working Paper, September 2024
Abstract:
We argue that migrants played a significant role in the diffusion of the demographic transition from France to the rest of Europe in the late 19th century. Employing novel data on French immigration from other European regions from 1850 to 1930, we find that higher immigration to France translated into lower fertility in the region of origin after a few decades -- both in cross-region regressions for various periods, and in a panel setting with region fixed effects. These results are robust to the inclusion of a variety of controls, and across multiple specifications. We also find that immigrants who themselves became French citizens achieved lower fertility, particularly those who moved to French regions with the lowest fertility levels. We interpret these findings in terms of cultural remittances, consistently with insights from a theoretical framework where migrants act as vectors of cultural diffusion, spreading new information, social norms and preferences pertaining to modern fertility to their regions of origin.
Gendered language and gendered violence
Lewis Davis, Astghik Mavisakalyan & Clas Weber
Journal of Comparative Economics, forthcoming
Abstract:
This study establishes the influence of sex-based grammatical gender on gendered violence. We demonstrate a statistically significant relationship between speaking a gendered language and the incidence of intimate partner violence in a cross-section of countries. Motivated by this evidence, we conduct an individual-level analysis of the effect of speaking a gendered language on beliefs about the justifiability of intimate partner violence, controlling for a wide variety of individual level socioeconomic characteristics as well as country, religion, language family and ethnicity fixed effects. Speaking a gendered language is associated with the belief that intimate partner violence is justifiable. Our results are consistent with complementarity between the cultural and cognitive effects of language on the attitudes to intimate partner violence.
The quiet revolution: Send-down movement and female empowerment in China
Chong Liu, Wenyi Lu & Ye Yuan
Journal of Development Economics, January 2025
Abstract:
What promotes female empowerment and gender equality? We investigate how internal population mobility and social interaction foster the advancement of female empowerment and gender equality across diverse subpopulations. Using the urban-to-rural youth resettlement program in China during the 1970s -- the Send-down Movement -- as our empirical context, we find that rural females with greater exposure to urban youths have achieved higher levels of education, increased labor force participation, greater financial independence, enhanced autonomy in marital and fertility decisions, increased political engagement, heightened self-confidence, reduced risk aversion, and a stronger belief in gender-equal ideologies and social values. Our findings underscore the role of population mobility in disseminating gender-equal ideologies and practices, both through human capital formation and social interactions, leading to lasting impacts on female empowerment in traditional societies.
Will you boost my joy or dampen it? Cultural differences in hedonic interpersonal emotion regulation in romantic relationships
Yue Li et al.
Emotion, forthcoming
Abstract:
A central tenet guiding contemporary research on emotions is that people are fundamentally motivated to feel good and avoid feeling bad. This principle translates from intrapersonal to extrinsic interpersonal emotion regulation; people not only strive to achieve the hedonic goal of managing their own emotions, but they also help others reach the same goal -- the process called hedonic interpersonal emotion regulation (hedonic IER). Here, we challenge the centrality of this principle in romantic relationships by testing a hypothesis that, compared with European Americans, Asians use hedonic IER less and benefit less from their partners’ use of this strategy. Findings across three studies (total N = 2,540) supported this hypothesis. First, European Americans used hedonic IER more than Asians both in positive and negative situations, and, moreover, this cultural difference was mediated by dialectical beliefs about emotions (Study 1). Second, compared with Chinese, European Americans anticipated greater relationship satisfaction in response to their partners’ hedonic IER attempts in both positive and negative situations, and this effect was again mediated by dialectical emotion beliefs (Study 2). Third, compared with Asian couples, European American couples perceived that their partners used hedonic IER more in positive situations. Moreover, when European Americans perceived that their partners used hedonic IER more, they showed greater vagal withdrawal during a positive discussion (i.e., physiological reactivity linked to enhanced social sensitivity and engagement), while Asians did not show this association (Study 3). These findings highlight the critical role of sociocultural contexts in shaping IER and its relational consequences.
Citizenship Traditions and Cultures of Military Service: Patriotism and Paychecks in Five Democracies
Ronald Krebs et al.
Armed Forces & Society, forthcoming
Abstract:
Why do people think that soldiers and officers join the military? In this article, we report and explain unique survey results of nationally representative populations in five democracies -- France, Germany, Israel, the United Kingdom, and the United States. Beliefs about motivations for military service vary significantly by nation. In Israel and France, large majorities endorse intrinsic accounts of service motivations -- that is, those centering on patriotism and good citizenship. The U.S. population is nearly evenly split between extrinsic accounts -- ascribing service to the pay and benefits received or to the desire to escape desperate circumstances -- and intrinsic ones. A large majority of U.K. and Germany-based respondents hew to extrinsic service accounts. We argue that the most plausible explanation lies with prevailing national citizenship discourses, in combination with the military’s operational tempo. This research has implications for public support for military recruitment, the use of force, and democratic civil–military relations.
Do Anglo-Saxon directors affect leverage?
Christophe Volonté
Kyklos, forthcoming
Abstract:
We investigate the impact of Anglo-Saxon directors on leverage of Swiss listed companies. Higher leverage increases a company's risk profile, and individuals with an Anglo-Saxon cultural background are considered less risk averse than others. Using a sample of 1556 firm-year observations from 2005 to 2015, we find empirical evidence supporting our hypothesis that Anglo-Saxon directors increase leverage. The result is robust to the inclusion of a battery of control variables, fixed effects, and instrumental variable estimation.
The Role of Cultural Heterogeneity in Strengthening the Link Between Family Relationships and Life Satisfaction in 50 Societies
Liman Man Wai Li et al.
Journal of Happiness Studies, August 2024
Abstract:
We argue that the importance of family relationships for individual well-being varies across societies as a function of a society’s degree of cultural heterogeneity. To examine the role of family relationships, we analyzed the responses from 13,009 participants in 50 societies on their life satisfaction across societies varying in their levels of historical and contemporary cultural heterogeneity. Such heterogeneity creates differences in the frequency of interacting with unfamiliar groups, which leads families to become more central to their members’ satisfaction with life. Multi-level analyses showed that historical and contemporary cultural heterogeneity moderated the pattern such that greater historical or contemporary cultural heterogeneity of society promoted a stronger positive relation between family relationship satisfaction and individual life satisfaction. Our results also revealed that the moderating role of historical cultural heterogeneity was more reliable than that of contemporary cultural heterogeneity. These findings demonstrate the importance of societal demography in shaping people’s psychological processes in different historical periods, suggesting a universal, trans-historical cultural process.
Forensic toxicology backdates the use of coca plant (Erythroxylum spp.) in Europe to the early 1600s
Gaia Giordano et al.
Journal of Archaeological Science, October 2024
Abstract:
Cocaine hydrochloride salts are one of the most commonly used drugs of our days, yet there is very little hard evidence regarding when people started consuming such an extensively popular drug in Europe. In this paper, we report the exceptional finding of Erythroxylum spp. in human remains dated to the 1600's in Milan, Italy.
Toxicological analyses were performed on preserved human brains revealing the first evidence of Erythroxylum spp. use in Europe before the 19th century, backdating our understanding of the presence of the plant by almost two centuries. Specifically, the alkaloid of cocaine was detected in two separate biological samples and can be associated to Erythroxylum spp. consumption. Given that the plant was not listed inside the detailed hospital pharmacopeia, it may not have been given as a medicinal remedy but may have been used for other purposes. This study demonstrates the importance and the potential of the application of toxicological analyses to archaeological contexts and allows to backdate the arrival of the Erythroxylum spp. in Europe by almost two hundred years.
Bridging the gulf: How migration fosters tolerance, cosmopolitanism, and support for globalization
Nikhar Gaikwad, Kolby Hanson & Aliz Tóth
American Journal of Political Science, forthcoming
Abstract:
Immigration has been shown to drive ethnocentrism and anti-globalization attitudes in native-born populations. Yet understanding how global integration shapes intercultural relations also necessitates clear evidence on how migration affects the attitudes of migrants. We argue that migration can foster tolerance, cosmopolitan identities, and support for international cooperation among migrants who experience sustained contact with other cultural groups. We evaluate this theory with the first randomized controlled trial resulting in overseas migration, which connected individuals in India with job opportunities in the Persian Gulf region's hospitality sector. Two years after the program began, individuals in the treatment group were significantly more accepting of ethnic, cultural, and national out-groups. Migration also bolstered support for international cooperation and cultivated cosmopolitan identities. Qualitative and quantitative evidence links these changes to intercultural contact overseas. By focusing on migrants rather than native-born individuals, our study illustrates how cross-border mobility can facilitate rather than undermine global integration.
Unraveling the nexus: Culture, cognitive competence, and economic performance across 86 nations (2000–2018)
David Becker, Thomas Coyle & Heiner Rindermann
Intelligence, September–October 2024
Abstract:
Numerous studies have explored the complex relationship between culture, cognitive competence, and economic performance globally. However, findings from these investigations vary significantly and occasionally contradict each other. This study delves into this connection by analyzing variables or dimensions from three distinct models of national culture concerning the results of the Programme for International Student Assessment (PISA) and the economic strength and growth of 86 nations between 2000 and 2018. Religious affiliations emerge as a significant statistical explanatory factor, accounting for a substantial portion of the variance in overall PISA performance, ranging from 24% to 40%. Remarkably, an underutilized cultural model, the Axiological Cube, surpasses others, exhibiting explanatory power ranging from 45% to 63%. Path analyses rooted in both Human Capital Theory and Cognitive Capitalism Theory reveal that cultural variables exert their influence on economic growth mainly indirectly through their impact on student competence. Cultural variables exhibit robust predictive capacity for overall student competences, as indicated by PISA mean scores. However, they prove inadequate in explaining certain cognitive competence patterns, such as disparities in inequality and subject-specific variations, like mathematics and reading. This study also highlights uncertainties surrounding the effects of Confucianism and East Asian religions, prompting further discussion and investigation.
Cultural Tightness-Looseness and Individual Differences in Non-Normativeness Predict Stigmatization of Out-Groups: A Multilevel Cross-Cultural Study
Elif Ikizer et al.
Personality and Social Psychology Bulletin, forthcoming
Abstract:
Although a large body of research has focused on the determinants of stigma, multilevel approaches that can identify both micro- and macro-level influences are rarely employed. We adopted a multilevel perspective with data from 174,325 participants from 80 countries in two waves -- Wave 5 (Study 1) and Wave 6 (Study 2) of the World Values Survey. We examined how country-level normative tightness-looseness and individual-level non-normativeness relate to stigma toward racial and ethnic out-groups and groups deviating from social standards. Preregistered analyses showed that for both waves individuals in normatively tighter (vs. looser) societies exhibited more stigma generally. Also, for both waves, individuals higher in non-normativeness demonstrated a greater level of stigma toward members of immigrant, racial, or ethnic out-groups while exhibiting a lower level of stigma toward groups deviating from social standards. The current work thus reveals how characteristics of both individuals and culture jointly affect stigma.