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Kin Networks and Institutional Development

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  • Jonathan F Schulz

Abstract

This study provides evidence that strong kin networks are detrimental for democratic participatory institutions and that the medieval Catholic Church's marriage regulations dissolved Europe's clan-based kin networks, which contributed to the emergence of participatory institutions. I show that weak ancestral kin networks are positively associated with ethnicities’ democratic traditions in the past and countries’ democracy scores today. At the same time, medieval Church exposure predicts weak kin networks across countries, European regions and ethnicities. In a historical difference-in-difference analysis, I provide evidence that exposure to the Church contributed to the formation of medieval communes—self-governed cities with participatory institutions. Moreover, within Christian Europe, stricter regional and temporal marriage prohibitions are associated with commune formation. Lastly, I shed light on one mechanism, civicness, and show that weak kin networks are associated with more political participation.

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  • Jonathan F Schulz, 2022. "Kin Networks and Institutional Development," The Economic Journal, Royal Economic Society, vol. 132(647), pages 2578-2613.
  • Handle: RePEc:oup:econjl:v:132:y:2022:i:647:p:2578-2613.
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    2. Millemaci, Emanuele & Monteforte, Fabio & Temple, Jonathan R. W., 2024. "Electing for stability: Democracy and output volatility, 1960-2019," SocArXiv m382s, Center for Open Science.
    3. Valencia Caicedo, Felipe & Dohmen, Thomas & Pondorfer, Andreas, 2023. "Religion and cooperation across the globe," Journal of Economic Behavior & Organization, Elsevier, vol. 215(C), pages 479-489.
    4. Kammas, Pantelis & Sarantides, Vassilis, 2024. "Historical pathogen prevalence and the radius of trust," European Economic Review, Elsevier, vol. 162(C).
    5. David de la Croix & Mara Vitale, 2023. "Women in European academia before 1800—religion, marriage, and human capital," European Review of Economic History, European Historical Economics Society, vol. 27(4), pages 506-532.
    6. Scott Claessens & Thanos Kyritsis & Quentin D. Atkinson, 2023. "Cross-national analyses require additional controls to account for the non-independence of nations," Nature Communications, Nature, vol. 14(1), pages 1-13, December.
    7. Li, Qiang & An, Lian & Zhang, Ren, 2023. "Corruption drives brain drain: Cross-country evidence from machine learning," Economic Modelling, Elsevier, vol. 126(C).
    8. Weber, Till O. & Schulz, Jonathan F. & Beranek, Benjamin & Lambarraa-Lehnhardt, Fatima & Gächter, Simon, 2023. "The behavioral mechanisms of voluntary cooperation across culturally diverse societies: Evidence from the US, the UK, Morocco, and Turkey," Journal of Economic Behavior & Organization, Elsevier, vol. 215(C), pages 134-152.
    9. Alessandra Cassar & Alejandrina Cristia & Pauline Grosjean & Sarah Walker, 2022. "It Makes a Village: Allomaternal Care and Prosociality," Discussion Papers 2022-06, School of Economics, The University of New South Wales.
    10. Root, Hilton L., 2024. "The religious origins of state capacity in Europe and China," Journal of Economic Behavior & Organization, Elsevier, vol. 218(C), pages 456-469.

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