Working Paper: CEPR ID: DP16569
Authors: Yiming Cao; Benjamin Enke; Armin Falk; Paola Giuliano; Nathan Nunn
Abstract: According to the widely known ‘culture of honor’hypothesis from social psychology, traditional herding practicesare believed to have generated a value system that is conducive torevenge-taking and violence. We test this idea at a global scale usinga combination of ethnographic records, historical folklore information,global data on contemporary conflict events, and large-scale surveys.The data show systematic links between traditional herding practicesand a culture of honor. First, the culture of pre-industrial societiesthat relied on animal herding emphasizes violence, punishment, andrevenge-taking. Second, contemporary ethnolinguistic groups thathistorically subsisted more strongly on herding have more frequentand severe conflict today. Third, the contemporary descendants ofherders report being more willing to take revenge and punish unfairbehavior in the globally representative Global Preferences Survey.In all, the evidence supports the idea that this form of economicsubsistence generated a functional psychology that has persisted untiltoday and plays a role in shaping conflict across the globe.
Keywords: culture of honor; conflict; punishment; revenge
JEL Codes: N0; Z1
Edges that are evidenced by causal inference methods are in orange, and the rest are in light blue.
| Cause | Effect |
|---|---|
| Herding practices (C92) | Willingness to punish (K49) |
| Herding practices (C92) | Culture of honor (Z13) |
| Culture of honor (Z13) | Conflict (D74) |
| Herding practices (C92) | Conflict (D74) |