Caste and Punishment: The Legacy of Caste Culture in Norm Enforcement

Karla Hoff · Mayuresh Kshetramade · Ernst Fehr

146 citations0/0 files storedThe Economic Journal

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Experimental Behavioral Economics Studies Law, Economics, and Judicial Systems Social Power and Status Dynamics

Abstract

Well‐functioning groups enforce social norms that restrain opportunism. We study how the assignment to the top or bottom of the caste system affects the altruistic punishment of norm violations. Individuals at the bottom of the hierarchy exhibit a much lower willingness to punish norm violations that hurt members of their own caste. We can rule out self‐selection into castes and control for wealth, education and political experience. We thus plausibly identify the impact of caste status on altruistic punishment. The lower willingness to punish may impair the low castes’ ability to enforce contracts, to ensure property rights and sustain cooperation.

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References

1991Institutions, Institutional Change and Economic Performance 1982Social Psychology of Intergroup Relations 2000Cooperation and Punishment in Public Goods Experiments 2000Collective Action and the Evolution of Social Norms 2006Does Culture Affect Economic Outcomes?2004The Role of Social Capital in Financial Development 2001In Search of Homo Economicus: Behavioral Experiments in 15 Small-Scale Societies 2004Third-party punishment and social norms

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