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Herding, Warfare, and a Culture of Honor: Global Evidence

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Listed:
  • 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 practices have generated a value system conducive to revenge-taking and violence. We test the economic significance of this idea at a global scale using a combination of ethnographic and folklore data, global information on conflicts, and multinational surveys. We find that the descendants of herders have significantly more frequent and severe conflict today, and report being more willing to take revenge in global surveys. We conclude that herding practices generated a functional psychology that plays a role in shaping conflict across the globe.

Suggested Citation

  • Yiming Cao & Benjamin Enke & Armin Falk & Paola Giuliano & Nathan Nunn, 2022. "Herding, Warfare, and a Culture of Honor: Global Evidence," CESifo Working Paper Series 9519, CESifo.
    • Handle: RePEc:ces:ceswps:_9519
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    References listed on IDEAS

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    7. Paola Giuliano & Nathan Nunn, 2018. "Ancestral Characteristics of Modern Populations," Economic History of Developing Regions, Taylor & Francis Journals, vol. 33(1), pages 1-17, January.
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    Cited by:

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    2. Ulugbek Aminjonov & Olivier Bargain & Maira Colacce & Luca Tiberti, 2022. "Culture, Intra-household Distribution and Individual Poverty," Working Papers - Economics wp2022_21.rdf, Universita' degli Studi di Firenze, Dipartimento di Scienze per l'Economia e l'Impresa.
    3. Victoria Baranov & Ralph Haas & Pauline Grosjean, 2023. "Men. Male-biased sex ratios and masculinity norms: evidence from Australia’s colonial past," Journal of Economic Growth, Springer, vol. 28(3), pages 339-396, September.
    4. Voigt, Stefan, 2022. "Determinant of Social Norms," ILE Working Paper Series 58, University of Hamburg, Institute of Law and Economics.
    5. Hufschmidt, Patrick & Ume, Chukwuma Otum, 2023. "Conflicts and political intervention: Evidence from the anti-open grazing laws in Nigeria," Ruhr Economic Papers 1009, RWI - Leibniz-Institut für Wirtschaftsforschung, Ruhr-University Bochum, TU Dortmund University, University of Duisburg-Essen.
    6. Aditi Singh & Sarah Vincent, 2024. "Male Sterilization and Persistence of Violence: Evidence from Emergency in India," AMSE Working Papers 2403, Aix-Marseille School of Economics, France.
    7. Matteo Sestito, 2023. "Identity conflict, ethnocentrism and social cohesion," Working Papers halshs-03953975, HAL.
    8. Kai Gehring & Paul Schaudt, 2023. "Insuring Peace: Index-Based Livestock Insurance, Droughts, and Conflict," CESifo Working Paper Series 10423, CESifo.
    9. Obolensky, Marguerite & Tabellini, Marco & Taylor, Charles A., 2024. "Homeward Bound: How Migrants Seek Out Familiar Climates," IZA Discussion Papers 16710, Institute of Labor Economics (IZA).
    10. Matteo Sestito, 2023. "Identity conflict, ethnocentrism and social cohesion," AMSE Working Papers 2304, Aix-Marseille School of Economics, France.
    11. Marguerite Obolensky & Marco Tabellini & Charles Taylor, 2024. "Homeward Bound: How Migrants Seek Out Familiar Climates," RF Berlin - CReAM Discussion Paper Series 2401, Rockwool Foundation Berlin (RF Berlin) - Centre for Research and Analysis of Migration (CReAM).
    12. Amendolagine, Vito & von Jacobi, Nadia, 2023. "Symbiotic relationships among formal and informal institutions: Comparing five Brazilian cultural ecosystems," Economic Systems, Elsevier, vol. 47(3).

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    More about this item

    JEL classification:

    • N0 - Economic History - - General
    • Z1 - Other Special Topics - - Cultural Economics

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