Collective Shocks and Social Preferences

• In Event: Measurement of Conflict Processes

Abstract

While some studies of conflict, disasters, and economic disruptions find that these negative collective shocks make people more prosocial, others find that they reduce cooperation. These conflicting findings may be a consequence of focusing on a single type of shock, such as conflict, or on a single country that has experienced such a shock.

We address these limitations by creating a global dataset of shocks and social preferences measured at the subnational level. We do so by carefully combining and harmonizing fragmented national and cross-national surveys and data on shocks. This allows us to understand how different negative (conflict, economic, climate) shocks influence different social (altruistic, fairness, trust) preferences at the subnational level.

We hypothesize that shocks reduce prosociality through the channel of resource scarcity. However, this relationship is mitigated in regions with higher state capacity, where governments can respond more effectively to exogenous adverse conditions. These preliminary findings underscore the importance of understanding how local context shapes the response to major disruptions. By comparing subnational regions within and across countries, this project develops a nuanced view of how major shocks influence social preferences, with implications for cooperative behavior and societal decision-making.

Authors

• James Walsh, National Science Foundation/UNC Charlotte

• Alexander Kustov, University of North Carolina at Charlotte

• Ivan Flores Flores Martinez, UNCC