Working Paper: CEPR ID: DP13354
Authors: Alison L. Booth; Xin Meng; Elliott Fan; Dandan Zhang
Abstract: Social scientists have long been interested in the effects of social-political upheavals on a society subsequently. A priori, we would expect that, when traumas are brought about by outsiders, within-group behaviour would become more collaborative, as society unites against the common foe. Conversely, we would expect the reverse when the conflict is generated within-group. In our paper we are looking at this second form of upheaval, and our measure of within-group conflict is the 1966-1976 Cultural Revolution (CR) that seriously disrupted many aspects of Chinese society. In particular, we explore how individuals' behavioural preferences are affected by within-group traumatic events experienced by their parents or grandparents. Using data from a laboratory experiment in conjunction with survey data, we find that individuals with parents or grandparents affected by the CR are less trusting, less trustworthy, and less likely to choose to compete than their counterparts whose predecessors were not direct victims of the CR.
Keywords: preferences; behavioural economics; cultural revolution
JEL Codes: C91; N4
Edges that are evidenced by causal inference methods are in orange, and the rest are in light blue.
| Cause | Effect |
|---|---|
| Cultural Revolution (CR) intensity (D74) | trust and trustworthiness (Z13) |
| Cultural Revolution (CR) intensity (D74) | inclination to compete (L13) |
| Cultural Revolution (CR) intensity (D74) | switching point in risk aversion game (D81) |
| Cultural Revolution (CR) intensity (D74) | behavioral traits (D91) |
| mistreatment during the CR (H84) | trust and trustworthiness (Z13) |
| mistreatment during the CR (H84) | inclination to compete (L13) |
| mistreatment during the CR (H84) | switching point in risk aversion game (D81) |