Tuesday’s talk to be delivered by Dr. Rohini Somanathan, Professor of Economics, Delhi School of Economics
10 March, 2017, Bengaluru: The Office of Research and Publications (R&P) at IIM Bangalore will be hosting a research seminar on ‘Culture and cognition: Does living in a low-solidarity community impede recognition of a Pareto-improving tax-spending program?’ on March 14 (Tuesday), 2017, from 2:30 pm, at Classroom P22. The talk will be delivered by Dr. Rohini Somanathan, Professor of Economics, Delhi School of Economics.
Prof. Rohini Somanathan received her Ph.D from Boston University and held faculty positions at Emory University, the University of Michigan and the Indian Statistical Institute before joining the Delhi School of Economics in 2005. Her research focuses on how social institutions interact with public policies to shape patterns of economic and social inequality. She is particularly interested in exploring the intellectual and ideological environment within which state policy is created and justified. Within the broad area of development economics, she has worked on group identity and public goods, access to microfinance, child nutrition programs and environmental health. She is also on the Executive Committee of the International Economic Association, on the governing body of the Indira Gandhi Institute for Development Research and a trustee of the NGO SRIJAN.
Background of talk: It is widely recognized that the kinds of social patterns that individuals have experienced influence how they think and conceptualize situations that they encounter. The question is: whether the experience of living in a community with a low level of solidarity impedes the ability of individuals within it to recognize a Pareto-improving tax-spending program. An experiment was conducted in which men from 24 villages played a social contracting game. This is a variant of a public goods game in which participants first vote over the mandated contribution before making a decision to contribute. Higher mandated contributions are Pareto improving. Survey data from the same villages was used to construct a village solidarity index based on responses to questions on village level trust and benefits from government programs. Compared to players from villages with high solidarity, players from villages with low solidarity choose lower rules. This suggests that their choices reflect their everyday expectations based on life in their villages. Individuals from villages with lower solidarity appear to have greater difficulty conceptualizing a Pareto-improving public program.
Topic: Culture and cognition: Does living in a low-solidarity community impede recognition of a Pareto-improving tax-spending program?
Speaker: Prof. Rohini Somanathan, Delhi School of Economics
Date: Tuesday, March 14, 2017
Time: 2.30 pm onwards
Venue: Classroom P22
Tuesday’s talk to be delivered by Dr. Rohini Somanathan, Professor of Economics, Delhi School of Economics
10 March, 2017, Bengaluru: The Office of Research and Publications (R&P) at IIM Bangalore will be hosting a research seminar on ‘Culture and cognition: Does living in a low-solidarity community impede recognition of a Pareto-improving tax-spending program?’ on March 14 (Tuesday), 2017, from 2:30 pm, at Classroom P22. The talk will be delivered by Dr. Rohini Somanathan, Professor of Economics, Delhi School of Economics.
Prof. Rohini Somanathan received her Ph.D from Boston University and held faculty positions at Emory University, the University of Michigan and the Indian Statistical Institute before joining the Delhi School of Economics in 2005. Her research focuses on how social institutions interact with public policies to shape patterns of economic and social inequality. She is particularly interested in exploring the intellectual and ideological environment within which state policy is created and justified. Within the broad area of development economics, she has worked on group identity and public goods, access to microfinance, child nutrition programs and environmental health. She is also on the Executive Committee of the International Economic Association, on the governing body of the Indira Gandhi Institute for Development Research and a trustee of the NGO SRIJAN.
Background of talk: It is widely recognized that the kinds of social patterns that individuals have experienced influence how they think and conceptualize situations that they encounter. The question is: whether the experience of living in a community with a low level of solidarity impedes the ability of individuals within it to recognize a Pareto-improving tax-spending program. An experiment was conducted in which men from 24 villages played a social contracting game. This is a variant of a public goods game in which participants first vote over the mandated contribution before making a decision to contribute. Higher mandated contributions are Pareto improving. Survey data from the same villages was used to construct a village solidarity index based on responses to questions on village level trust and benefits from government programs. Compared to players from villages with high solidarity, players from villages with low solidarity choose lower rules. This suggests that their choices reflect their everyday expectations based on life in their villages. Individuals from villages with lower solidarity appear to have greater difficulty conceptualizing a Pareto-improving public program.
Topic: Culture and cognition: Does living in a low-solidarity community impede recognition of a Pareto-improving tax-spending program?
Speaker: Prof. Rohini Somanathan, Delhi School of Economics
Date: Tuesday, March 14, 2017
Time: 2.30 pm onwards
Venue: Classroom P22