Persistent norms and tipping points: The case of female genital cutting

Novak, Lindsey

doi:10.1016/j.jebo.2020.05.016

Cited by 26 publications

(21 citation statements)

References 30 publications

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“…In summary, both and Novak (2020) reject a strict version of social convention theory, where the cutting decision depends only on what others in the community are doing. Rather, they suggest that the private preferences for FGC is important for the decision of whether or not to cut one's daughter.…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 95%

“…However, recent quantitative evidence from selected countries has challenged the explanatory power of social convention theory in the case of FGC (Bellemare et al, 2015;Efferson et al, 2015;Novak, 2020). Efferson et al (2015) find in their Sudanese sample that community level cutting rates vary continuously along the full spectrum, rather than being extremely high or extremely low and displaying a clear discontinuity suggestive of coordination, leading them to state that "Female genital cutting is not a social coordination norm".…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…Efferson et al (2015) find in their Sudanese sample that community level cutting rates vary continuously along the full spectrum, rather than being extremely high or extremely low and displaying a clear discontinuity suggestive of coordination, leading them to state that "Female genital cutting is not a social coordination norm". Novak (2020) investigates the variation in FGC rates within communities over time in Burkina Faso to search for either universal tipping points, as would be suggested by social convention theory strictly interpreted, or stable interior equilibria where some members in the community cut their daughters while others do not. She finds that while some communities appear to have tipping points after which the FGC rate falls to zero, others display stable interior equilibria.…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

See 2 more Smart Citations

Harmful Norms Can Social Convention Theory Explain the Persistence of Female Genital Cutting in Africa?

Fors

Isaksson²,

Lindskog

2022

Preprint

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Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 95%

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

See 1 more Smart Citation

Harmful Norms Can Social Convention Theory Explain the Persistence of Female Genital Cutting in Africa?

Fors

Isaksson²,

Lindskog

2022

Preprint

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“…Alternatively, atrocity architects can attempt to shift the diffusion curve upward by increasing actors' intrinsic valuations for atrocity (e.g., by propaganda) and/or by promoting greater network benefits from atrocity. Of course, atrocity preventers want to do the 30 Orians (1969), Mackie (1996), Efferson, et al (2015), Novak (2016), Borker, et al (2017).…”

Section: The Nonstandard Self: the Networked Selfmentioning

confidence: 99%

Mass Atrocities and Their Prevention

Anderton

Bräuer

2021

Journal of Economic Literature

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Counting conservatively, data show about 100 million mass atrocity-related deaths since 1900. A distinct empirical phenomenon, mass atrocities are events of enormous scale, severity, and brutality, occur in wartime and in peacetime, are geographically widespread, occur with surprising frequency, under various systems of governance, and can be long-lasting in their effects on economic and human development, wellbeing, and wealth, more so when nonfatal physical injuries and mental trauma also are considered. As such, mass atrocities are a major economic concern. Given the multidisciplinary nature of the subject matter, the pertinent conceptual, theoretical, and empirical literatures are voluminous and widely dispersed, and have not been synthesized before from an economics point of view. We address two gaps: a “mass atrocities gap” in the economics literature and an “economics gap” in mass atrocities scholarship. Our goals are, first, to survey and synthesize for economists a broad sweep of literatures on which to base further work in this field and, second, for both economists and noneconomists to learn how economic inquiry contributes to understanding the causes and conduct of mass atrocities and, possibly, to their mitigation and prevention. In drawing on standard, behavioral, identity, social network, and complex systems economics, we find that the big puzzles of the “how” and “why” of mass atrocities, and mass participation therein, are being well addressed. While new research on such topics will be valuable, work should also progress to develop improved prevention approaches. (JEL D72, D74, K38, N40, Z13)

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“…Second, we contribute to a growing literature on the importance of social norms in economics, including norms for risk sharing in village economies (Jakiela and Ozier, 2016), productivity in firms (Huck et al, 2012), xenophobia (Bursztyn et al, 2020a), female genital cutting (Efferson et al, 2015;Vogt et al, 2016;Novak, 2020) and female labor force participation (Bursztyn et al, 2020b). On a broader scale, we also contribute to the literature on the role of culture and social norms in health behavior in social sciences and medicine.…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 96%

Social Norms and Misinformation: Experimental Evidence on Learning About Menstrual Health Management in Rural Bangladesh

Castro

Czura

2021

SSRN Journal

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Inadequate hygiene during menstruation can have severe consequences, such as adverse health effects, lower educational attainment and higher work absenteeism. Cultural taboos and social norms surrounding menstruation may contribute to misinformation about menstrual hygiene and may also interfere with attempts to improve knowledge. Using lab-in-the-field experiments with women in rural Bangladesh, we measure social norms in the form of empirical and normative expectations about menstrual health and hygiene explicitly, and relate them to behavior and knowledge. We then provide an information intervention on menstrual health and hygiene and observe how this changes the perceived social norms. We find that the majority of women report decreased physical and mental well-being, in particular stress and shame, during their menstruation. Further, we find knowledge gaps on the proper use of hygienic material for menstrual health management and that empirical and normative expectations are well matched to reported adverse health behavior. The information intervention helps to correct harmful social norms, although results are more pronounced for women who have more autonomy and agency over their own decisions.

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Persistent norms and tipping points: The case of female genital cutting

Cited by 26 publications

References 30 publications

Harmful Norms Can Social Convention Theory Explain the Persistence of Female Genital Cutting in Africa?

Harmful Norms Can Social Convention Theory Explain the Persistence of Female Genital Cutting in Africa?

Mass Atrocities and Their Prevention

Social Norms and Misinformation: Experimental Evidence on Learning About Menstrual Health Management in Rural Bangladesh

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