Over the last millennium, the clan and the city have been the locus of cooperation in China and Europe respectively. This paper examines — analytically, historically, and empirically — the cultural, social, and institutional co-evolution that led to this bifurcation.
We highlight that groups with which individuals identify are basic units of cooperation. Such groups impact institutional development because intra-group moral commitment reduces enforcement cost implying a comparative advantage in pursuing collective actions. Moral groups perpetuate due to positive feedbacks between morality, institutions, and the implied pattern of cooperation.
A new paper, The Clan and the City, by Avner Greif and Guido Tabellini.
5 Responses
http://t.co/ThweyvBQ — Culture and cooperation as the Great Divide?
Culture and cooperation as the Great Divide? http://t.co/sn18PRQk
Nice paper.
Swarup
Culture and cooperation as the Great Divide? New work from Avner Greif and Guido Tabellini – http://t.co/2FWMS9c0 – via @cblatts
Culture and cooperation as the Great Divide? http://t.co/XrAjm6Cq