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Names and behavior in a war

Author

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  • Štěpán Jurajda

    (CERGE-EI, a joint workplace of Charles University and the Economics Institute of the Czech Academy of Sciences)

  • Dejan Kovač

    (Princeton University)

Abstract

We implement a novel empirical strategy for measuring and studying a strong form of nationalism—the willingness to fight and die in a war for national independence—using name choices corresponding to a previous war leader. Based on data on almost half a million soldiers, we first show that having been given a first name that is synonymous with the leader(s) of the Croatian state during World War II predicts volunteering for service in the 1991–1995 Croatian war of independence and dying during the conflict. Next, we use the universe of Croatian birth certificates and the information about nationalism conveyed by first names to suggests that in ex-Yugoslav Croatia, nationalism rose continuously starting in the 1970s and that its rise was curbed in areas where concentration camps were located during WWII. Our evidence on intergenerational transmission of nationalism is consistent with nationalist fathers purposefully reflecting the trade-off between within-family and society-wide transmission channels of political values. We also link the nationalist values we proxy using first name choices to right-wing voting behavior in 2015, 20 years after the war.

Suggested Citation

  • Štěpán Jurajda & Dejan Kovač, 2021. "Names and behavior in a war," Journal of Population Economics, Springer;European Society for Population Economics, vol. 34(1), pages 1-33, January.
    • Handle: RePEc:spr:jopoec:v:34:y:2021:i:1:d:10.1007_s00148-020-00782-6
    DOI: 10.1007/s00148-020-00782-6
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    1. Chris Sampson’s journal round-up for 23rd November 2020
      by Chris Sampson in The Academic Health Economists' Blog on 2020-11-23 12:00:14

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    Cited by:

    1. Jakub Grossmann & Štĕpán Jurajda & Felix Roesel, 2021. "Forced Migration, Staying Minorities, and New Societies: Evidence from Post-War Czechoslovakia," CESifo Working Paper Series 8950, CESifo.
    2. Kukić, Leonard, 2023. "The last Yugoslavs: Ethnic diversity and national identity," Explorations in Economic History, Elsevier, vol. 88(C).

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    More about this item

    Keywords

    Nationalism; Names; Intergenerational transmission;
    All these keywords.

    JEL classification:

    • D64 - Microeconomics - - Welfare Economics - - - Altruism; Philanthropy; Intergenerational Transfers
    • D74 - Microeconomics - - Analysis of Collective Decision-Making - - - Conflict; Conflict Resolution; Alliances; Revolutions
    • Z1 - Other Special Topics - - Cultural Economics

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