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The Role of Attitudes and Perceptions on Economic and Political Outcomes

Paper Session

Saturday, Jan. 4, 2020 10:15 AM - 12:15 PM (PDT)

Marriott Marquis, Grand Ballroom 11
Hosted By: American Economic Association
  • Chair: Paola Giuliano, University of California-Los Angeles

Linguistic Traits and Human Capital Formation

Oded Galor
,
Brown University
Omer Ozak
,
Southern Methodist University
Assaf Sarid
,
University of Haifa

Abstract

This research establishes empirically that existing cross-language variations in the structure of the future tense and the presence of grammatical gender affected human capital accumulation. Exploiting variations in the dominant languages among migrants from the same countries of origin, the study explores the impact of these traits on the educational attainment of children of migrants in the US. The results suggest that college attendance among individuals with identical ancestry is (i) higher if the dominating language at home has a periphrastic future tense, and (ii) lower for women exposed predominantly to sex-based grammatical gender.

The Happiness Cost of Being Patient

Paola Giuliano
,
University of California-Los Angeles
Paola Sapienza
,
Northwestern University

Abstract

We study the potential psychological cost of being patient. The ability to sacrifice the present for the future has been shown to be important for various economic decisions, such as investment in human capital and saving behavior. We study the unintended consequence of patience by looking at several measures of well-being in a large sample of countries. We find that the relationship between patience and well-being is hump-shaped. Very impatient or very patient individuals have substantially lower well-being than moderately patient individuals.

Ancient Origins of the Global Variation in Economic Preferences

Anke Becker
,
Harvard University
Benjamin Enke
,
Harvard University
Armin Falk
,
Behavior and Inequality Research Institute (BRIQ)

Abstract

Using novel globally representative preference data, this paper shows that the structure and timing of the migratory movements of our very early ancestors have left a footprint in the contemporary cross-country distributions of risk, time, and social preferences. Across a wide range of regression specifications, differences in preferences between populations are significantly increasing in the length of time elapsed since the respective groups shared common ancestors, as proxied by genetic, linguistic, and predicted migratory distance data. The results are strongest for risk aversion and the prosocial traits altruism, positive reciprocity, and trust; similar, but weaker, findings hold for patience and negative reciprocity. These patterns point to the very long-run roots of the global variation in preferences and associated economic behaviors.

The Polarization of Reality

Alberto Alesina
,
Harvard University
Stefanie Stantcheva
,
Harvard University

Abstract

In this paper we review recent evidence suggesting that Americans are polarized not only about views on policies and attitudes towards government or society, but also about their perceptions of the same, factual reality. Republican and Democrats (as well as Trump and non-Trump voters since 2016) view the same reality through a different lens when it comes to inequality, social mobility, or immigration. Perhaps as a a result, they hold different views about policies and what should be done to address different economic and social issues.
JEL Classifications
  • A1 - General Economics
  • E0 - General