Author
Moses Shayo
Bio: Moses Shayo is an academic researcher from Hebrew University of Jerusalem. The author has contributed to research in topics: In-group favoritism & Social identity theory. The author has an hindex of 15, co-authored 34 publications receiving 1684 citations.
Papers
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TL;DR: In this article, the authors define social identification as a steady state where each individual's behavior is consistent with his or her social identity, social identities are consistent with the social environment, and the behavior of the individuals is determined by the individuals.
Abstract: rium (SIE) is a steady state where (1) each individual’s behavior is consistent with his or her social identity, (2) social identities are consistent with the social environment, and (3) the social environment is determined by the behavior of the individuals. Social identification is defined in terms of preferences: to identify with different groups means to have different preferences over outcomes. Preferences involve two novel components. The first is the status of the various groups that exist in society. Group status is the relative position of a group on valued dimensions of comparisons (e.g., wealth, occupational status, educationalachievement).Thus,ifweassumethatindividuals value consumption, then a group characterized by high levels of consumption will have a higher status than a group characterized by low levels, other things equal. The second component is the perceived similarity between an individual and the other members of the group. This component is modeled using the notion of distance in conceptual space from cognitive psychology. Each agent is characterized by a vector of attributes. The perceived distance from a given group is then simply a weighted Euclidean distance between the agent and the prototype of that group, with the weights reflecting the relative salience of the various
615 citations
TL;DR: In this article, the authors study ingroup bias in small claims decisions in the Israeli small claims court during 2000-04, a period characterized by intense ethnically-based terrorism and show that the bias increases with the intensity of terrorism in the vicinity of the court during the period preceding the ruling.
Abstract: We study ingroup bias –the preferential treatment of members of one’s own group – in naturally occurring data, where economically signi…cant allocation decisions are made under a strong non-discriminatory norm. Data come from rulings in Israeli small claims courts during 2000-04, a period characterized by intense ethnically-based terrorism. Our analysis exploits the essentially random assignment of cases to judges –Jewish or Arab –and the exogeneity of terrorist attacks with respect to the legal procedure. Evidence suggests the existence of substantial bias: a claim is around 15% more likely to be accepted if assigned to a judge of the same ethnicity as the plainti¤. Furthermore, we …nd that this bias increases with the intensity of terrorism in the vicinity of the court during the period preceding the ruling. The results are consistent with existing theory and lab evidence according to which salience of group membership enhances social identi…cation.
268 citations
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TL;DR: This article study the effects of social identity on preferences over redistribution and find that a significant subset of the subjects systematically deviate from monetary payoff maximization towards the tax rate that benefits their group when the monetary cost of doing so is not significantly high.
Abstract: We design an experiment to study the effects of social identity on preferences over redistribution. The experiment highlights the trade-off between social identity concerns and maximization of monetary payoffs. Subjects belonging to two distinct natural groups are randomly assigned gross incomes and vote over alternative redistributive tax regimes, where the regime is chosen by majority rule. We find that a significant subset of the subjects systematically deviate from monetary payoff maximization towards the tax rate that benefits their group when the monetary cost of doing so is not significantly high. These deviations cannot be explained by efficiency concerns, inequality aversion, reciprocity, social learning or conformity. Finally, we show that behaviour in the lab helps explain the relationship between reported income and stated preferences over redistribution observed in surveys.
201 citations
TL;DR: This paper study the effects of social identity on preferences over redistribution and find that a significant subset of the subjects systematically deviate from monetary payoff maximization towards the tax rate that benefits their group when the monetary cost of doing so is not too high.
186 citations
TL;DR: In this paper, the authors draw on empirical results regarding the nature and determinants of group identification to develop a simple model that highlights the possibility of vicious and virtuous cycles where conflict and identification patterns reinforce each other, and demonstrate how a small but sufficiently potent group of ethnic radicals can derail a peaceful equilibrium, leading to the polarization of the entire population.
Abstract: When do ethnic cleavages increase the risk of conflict? Under what conditions is a strong common identity likely to emerge, thereby reducing that risk? How are patterns of social identification shaped by conflict? We draw on empirical results regarding the nature and determinants of group identification to develop a simple model that addresses these questions. The model highlights the possibility of vicious and virtuous cycles where conflict and identification patterns reinforce each other. It also shows how processes of ethnic identification amplify the importance of political institutions and points to the effects of national status and the salience of ethnic cleavages. Finally, we demonstrate how a small but sufficiently potent group of ethnic radicals can derail a peaceful equilibrium, leading to the polarization of the entire population. We reexamine several historical cases as well as empirical correlates of civil wars in light of these results.
126 citations
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TL;DR: In this paper, Imagined communities: Reflections on the origin and spread of nationalism are discussed. And the history of European ideas: Vol. 21, No. 5, pp. 721-722.
13,842 citations
TL;DR: In the last two decades, much research has been done on the econometric and statistical analysis of such causal effects as discussed by the authors, which has reached a level of maturity that makes it an important tool in many areas of empirical research in economics, including labor economics, public finance, development economics, industrial organization, and other areas in empirical microeconomics.
Abstract: Many empirical questions in economics and other social sciences depend on causal effects of programs or policies. In the last two decades, much research has been done on the econometric and statistical analysis of such causal effects. This recent theoreti- cal literature has built on, and combined features of, earlier work in both the statistics and econometrics literatures. It has by now reached a level of maturity that makes it an important tool in many areas of empirical research in economics, including labor economics, public finance, development economics, industrial organization, and other areas of empirical microeconomics. In this review, we discuss some of the recent developments. We focus primarily on practical issues for empirical research- ers, as well as provide a historical overview of the area and give references to more technical research.
3,175 citations
Book•
01 Jan 1983
TL;DR: In this paper, the authors present a typology of nationalisms in industrial and agro-literature societies, and a discussion of the difficulties of true nationalism in industrial societies.
Abstract: Series Editor's Preface. Introduction by John Breuilly. Acknowledgements. 1. Definitions. State and nation. The nation. 2. Culture in Agrarian Society. Power and culture in the agro-literature society. The varieties of agrarian rulers. 3. Industrial Society. The society of perpetual growth. Social genetics. The age of universal high culture. 4. The Transition to an Age of Nationalism. A note on the weakness of nationalism. Wild and garden culture. 5. What is a Nation. The course of true nationalism never did run smooth. 6. Social Entropy and Equality in Industrial Society. Obstacles to entropy. Fissures and barriers. A diversity of focus. 7. A Typology of Nationalisms. The varieties of nationalist experience. Diaspora nationalism. 8. The Future of Nationalism. Industrial culture - one or many?. 9. Nationalism and Ideology. Who is for Nuremberg?. One nation, one state. 10. Conclusion. What is not being said. Summary. Select bibliography. Bilbliography of Ernest Gellner's writing: Ian Jarvie. Index
2,912 citations
TL;DR: This article developed an extension of the theory that connects bias explicitly to coefficient stability and showed that it is necessary to take into account coefficient and R-squared movements, and showed two validation exercises and discuss application to the economics literature.
Abstract: A common approach to evaluating robustness to omitted variable bias is to observe coefficient movements after inclusion of controls. This is informative only if selection on observables is informative about selection on unobservables. Although this link is known in theory in existing literature, very few empirical articles approach this formally. I develop an extension of the theory that connects bias explicitly to coefficient stability. I show that it is necessary to take into account coefficient and R-squared movements. I develop a formal bounding argument. I show two validation exercises and discuss application to the economics literature. Supplementary materials for this article are available online.
2,115 citations
TL;DR: In this article, the authors show that consumers underreact to taxes that are not salient, and that even policies that induce no change in behavior can create efficiency losses, implying that the economic incidence of a tax depends on its statutory incidence.
Abstract: Using two strategies, we show that consumers underreact to taxes that are not salient. First, using a field experiment in a grocery store, we find that posting tax-inclusive price tags reduces demand by 8 percent. Second, increases in taxes included in posted prices reduce alcohol consumption more than increases in taxes applied at the register. We develop a theoretical framework for applied welfare analysis that accommodates salience effects and other optimization failures. The simple formulas we derive imply that the economic incidence of a tax depends on its statutory incidence, and that even policies that induce no change in behavior can create efficiency losses. ( JEL C93, D12, H25, H71)
1,903 citations