Social Composition, Social Conflict and Economic Development

Social Composition, Social Conflict, and Economic Development

This paper investigates how people subdivided in social groups behave in an economy without property rights. Facing a linear production technology groups follow Markovian strategies for consumption and investment. Additionally, they may spend effort in an appropriation contest. For a symmetric society I show that conflict prevents investment and growth. In a society at peace economic growth may...

Social Composition , Social Conflict , and Economic Development Holger

Economic reform, social development and conflict in India

The paper elaborates on changing economic paradigms in India over the past six decades that finally led to structural adjustment in 1991. The paper investigates how economic reforms failed to resolve social challenges in India. From the mid-1960s, when Congress dominance in independent India was challenged for the first time economic crisis and political instability have been closely related, a...

Social Capital, Economic Growth and Regional Development

SRIYA IYER*, MICHAEL KITSON† and BERNARD TOH‡ *Faculty of Economics and St Catharine’s College, University of Cambridge, Cambridge CB3 9DD, UK. Email: [email protected] †Judge Business School and St Catharine’s College, University of Cambridge, Cambridge CB2 1AG, UK. Email: [email protected] ‡Department of Economics, University of Warwick, Coventry CV4 7AL, UK. Email: bernard.toh@g...

Trust, Social Capital and Economic Development∗†

Many argue that elements of a society’s norms, culture or social capital are central to understanding its development. However, these notions have been difficult to capture in economic models. Here we explore a possible role for ‘trustworthiness’ as corresponding to social capital. Individuals are trustworthy when they perform in accordance with promises, even if this does not maximize their pa...