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Status and egalitarianism in traditional communities: An analysis of funeral attendance in six Zimbabwean villages

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  • Abigail Barr
  • Mattea Stein

Abstract

This paper explores two hypotheses concerning the role of status in relationships between rich and poor in traditional communities by analyzing who goes to whose funerals in six Zimbabwean villages. Funerals allow status to be observed because non-attendance is a sign of disrespect. We find that the richer a household hosting a funeral, the less likely heads of neighbouring households are to attend. Thus, the status-for-insurance hypothesis – that the poor bestow status upon the rich in return for help in times of need is rejected in favour of the egalitarianism hypothesis – that richer households are denied status.

Suggested Citation

  • Abigail Barr & Mattea Stein, 2008. "Status and egalitarianism in traditional communities: An analysis of funeral attendance in six Zimbabwean villages," CSAE Working Paper Series 2008-26, Centre for the Study of African Economies, University of Oxford.
    • Handle: RePEc:csa:wpaper:2008-26
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    References listed on IDEAS

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    1. De Weerdt, Joachim & Dercon, Stefan, 2006. "Risk-sharing networks and insurance against illness," Journal of Development Economics, Elsevier, vol. 81(2), pages 337-356, December.
    2. Joachim De Weerdt & Marcel Fafchamps, 2011. "Social Identity and the Formation of Health Insurance Networks," Journal of Development Studies, Taylor & Francis Journals, vol. 47(8), pages 1152-1177, June.
    3. Joachim De Weerdt, 2002. "Risk-Sharing and Endogenous Network Formation," WIDER Working Paper Series DP2002-57, World Institute for Development Economic Research (UNU-WIDER).
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    Cited by:

    1. Margherita Comola & Marcel Fafchamps, 2014. "Testing Unilateral and Bilateral Link Formation," Economic Journal, Royal Economic Society, vol. 124(579), pages 954-976, September.
    2. Fromell, Hanna & Nosenzo, Daniele & Owens, Trudy & Tufano, Fabio, 2021. "One size does not fit all: Plurality of social norms and saving behavior in Kenya," Journal of Economic Behavior & Organization, Elsevier, vol. 192(C), pages 73-91.
    3. Hanna Fromell & Daniele Nosenzo & Trudy Owens & Fabio Tufano, 2019. "One Size Doesn’t Fit All: Plurality of Social Norms and Saving Behavior in Kenya," Discussion Papers 2019-12, The Centre for Decision Research and Experimental Economics, School of Economics, University of Nottingham.
    4. Pamela Jakiela & Edward Miguel & Vera Velde, 2015. "You’ve earned it: estimating the impact of human capital on social preferences," Experimental Economics, Springer;Economic Science Association, vol. 18(3), pages 385-407, September.
    5. Pamela Jakiela & Owen Ozier, 2016. "Does Africa Need a Rotten Kin Theorem? Experimental Evidence from Village Economies," The Review of Economic Studies, Review of Economic Studies Ltd, vol. 83(1), pages 231-268.
    6. Caria, Antonia Stefano & Hassen, Ibrahim Worku, 2013. "The formation of job referral networks: Experimental evidence from urban Ethiopia," IFPRI discussion papers 1282, International Food Policy Research Institute (IFPRI).
    7. Pamela Jakiela & Edward Miguel & Vera L. te Velde, 2010. "You've Earned It: Combining Field and Lab Experiments to Estimate the Impact of Human Capital on Social Preferences," NBER Working Papers 16449, National Bureau of Economic Research, Inc.
    8. Akay, Alpaslan & Martinsson, Peter & Tesemma, Tewodros, 2025. "Positional Concerns across Generations," Working Papers in Economics 859, University of Gothenburg, Department of Economics.
    9. Barr, Abigail & Dekker, Marleen & Fafchamps, Marcel, 2015. "The Formation of Community-Based Organizations: An Analysis of a Quasi-Experiment in Zimbabwe," World Development, Elsevier, vol. 66(C), pages 131-153.
    10. Jakiela, Pamela & Miguel, Edward & te Velde, Vera L, 2015. "You’ve earned it: estimating the impact of human capital on social preferences," Department of Economics, Working Paper Series qt9b66r5vf, Department of Economics, Institute for Business and Economic Research, UC Berkeley.
    11. Di Falco, Salvatore & Feri, Francesco & Pin, Paolo & Vollenweider, Xavier, 2018. "Ties that bind: Network redistributive pressure and economic decisions in village economies," Journal of Development Economics, Elsevier, vol. 131(C), pages 123-131.

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