Keeping It in the Family: Lineage Organization and the Scope of Trust in Sub-Saharan Africa
American Economic Review
vol. 107,
no. 5, May 2017
(pp. 565-71)
Abstract
We present evidence that the traditional structure of society is an important determinant of the scope of trust today. Within Africa, individuals belonging to ethnic groups that organized society using segmentary lineages exhibit a more limited scope of trust, measured by the gap between trust in relatives and trust in non-relatives. This trust gap arises because of lower levels of trust in non-relatives and not higher levels of trust in relatives. A causal interpretation of these correlations is supported by the fact that the effects are primarily found in rural areas where these forms of organization are still prevalent.Citation
Moscona, Jacob, Nathan Nunn, and James A. Robinson. 2017. "Keeping It in the Family: Lineage Organization and the Scope of Trust in Sub-Saharan Africa." American Economic Review, 107 (5): 565-71. DOI: 10.1257/aer.p20171088Additional Materials
JEL Classification
- J12 Marriage; Marital Dissolution; Family Structure; Domestic Abuse
- J15 Economics of Minorities, Races, Indigenous Peoples, and Immigrants; Non-labor Discrimination
- O15 Economic Development: Human Resources; Human Development; Income Distribution; Migration
- O18 Economic Development: Urban, Rural, Regional, and Transportation Analysis; Housing; Infrastructure
- Z13 Economic Sociology; Economic Anthropology; Language; Social and Economic Stratification