Missing Discussions: Institutional Constraints in the Islamic Political Tradition

Missing Discussions: Institutional Constraints in the Islamic Political Tradition. A. Arda Gitmez, James A. Robinson & Mehdi Shadmehr. NBER Working Paper 30916, February 2023. DOI 10.3386/w30916

Abstract: Institutional constraints to counter potential abuses in the use of political power have been viewed as essential to well functioning political institutions and good public policy outcomes in the Western World since the time of ancient Greece. A sophisticated intellectual tradition emerged to justify the need for such constraints. In this paper we identify a new puzzle: such an intellectual tradition did not exist in the Islamic world, even if the potential for abuse was recognized. We develop a model to explain why such ideas might not have emerged. We argue that this is due to the nature of Islamic law (the Sharia) being far more encompassing than Western law, making it easier for citizens to identify abuses of power and use collective action to discipline them. We study how the relative homogeneity and solidarity of Islamic society fortified this logic.

TV content shapes attitudes and value orientations conducive to entrepreneurship; there is an intergenerational transmission of an entrepreneurial mindset; a self-sustained entrepreneurial culture can emerge & cause long-lasting effects

The effects of TV content on entrepreneurship: Evidence from German unification. Viktor Slavtchev, Michael Wyrwich. Journal of Comparative Economics, February 8 2023. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jce.2023.01.008

Highlights

• TV content affects individuals' decisions to start businesses.

• TV content shapes attitudes and value orientations conducive to entrepreneurship.

• There is an intergenerational transmission of an entrepreneurial mindset.

• A self-sustained entrepreneurial culture can emerge and cause long-lasting effects.

Abstract: This paper empirically analyzes whether television (TV) can influence individuals’ decisions to start businesses. To identify TV's effects, we rely on a unique quasi-natural experiment related to the division of Germany after WWII until 1990 into West Germany with a free market economy and the socialist East Germany where starting one's own business was not permitted. Despite this division, Western TV was exogeneously available since the 1960s in some, but not all East German regions and conveyed images and attitudes conducive to entrepreneurship. We use both regional-level and geo-referenced individual-level data and show that since starting a business in East Germany became possible thanks to the reunification in 1990, entrepreneurship incidence is higher in East German regions that had Western TV signal. This indicates a first-order effect on directly exposed individuals. We show that this is due to the effects of Western TV on attitudes and value orientations associated with entrepreneurship, particularly independence. We find no indication that the differences in the entrpreneurship incidence of East German regions with and without Western TV disappear. Instead, we find that successive cohorts and descendants of directly exposed individuals who were not directly exposed themselves more frequently wish to become entrepreneurs. The latter findings are consistent with second-order effects due to intergenerational transmission of an entrepreneurial mindset and suggest that a self-sustaining entrepreneurial culture can be formed. This can cause long-lasting differences between treated and non-treated population groups or regions.

Keywords: EntrepreneurshipTVCultureOccupational choice

JEL: L26J24M13P20P30O30D02D03Z10

Men were more inclined than women to remain friends with rejected suitors; ultimately, women have to deal with rejecting advances at an early age & this early onset has consequences for future dating

Repercussions of Rejecting Unwanted Advances: Gender Differences in Experience and Concern. James B. Moran & Rebecca L. Burch. International Journal of Sexual Health, Feb 7 2023. https://doi.org/10.1080/19317611.2023.2175098

Abstract: Here we investigated how a history of experiencing unwanted advances—both sexual and romantic—impact a person’s stress and strategies when rejecting future advances. In this study (N = 465; 71% women), women reported experiencing unwanted advances earlier in life compared to men, and these women were more likely to have greater worry over such advances. Additionally, women tended to worry more than men about the repercussions of rejecting these advances (e.g., being hit, being yelled at). Lastly, women were more likely to employ a myriad of strategies (e.g., run away, call a friend) to ensure their safety when rejecting an advance. In contrast, men were more likely to remain friends with the rejected person. Ultimately, women have to deal with rejecting advances at an early age and this early onset has consequences for future dating.