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The dynamics of costly social norms

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  • H Peyton Young
  • Sam Jindani

Abstract

Social norms are costly if they are harmful for individuals but they remain in place for long periods of time because deviations are punished by members of the community. Examples include female genital cutting, foot binding, and codes of honour such as duelling. These and many other costly norms are seldom ‘all or nothing’: they are multidimensional and can take many altern¬ative forms. We develop a general theory of norm dynamics that focuses on the intermediate-run behaviour of such systems. Al-though in the (very) long run costly norms tend to die out, in the intermediate run transitions to less costly versions of the norm may occur that significantly retard its ultimate abandonment. Revised January 2020.

Suggested Citation

  • H Peyton Young & Sam Jindani, 2020. "The dynamics of costly social norms," Economics Series Working Papers 883, University of Oxford, Department of Economics.
    • Handle: RePEc:oxf:wpaper:883
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    References listed on IDEAS

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    Cited by:

    1. Cheng, Nora & Fan, Elliott & Wu, Tsong-Min, 2022. "Sweet unbinding: Sugarcane cultivation and the demise of foot-binding," Journal of Development Economics, Elsevier, vol. 157(C).

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