The Clan and the Corporation: Sustaining Cooperation in China and Europe

Avner Greif and Guido Tabellini

No 5233, CESifo Working Paper Series from CESifo

Abstract: Over the last millennium, the clan and the corporation have been the loci of cooperation in China and Europe respectively. This paper examines - analytically and historically - the cultural and institutional co-evolution that led to this bifurcation. We highlight that groups with which individuals identify are basic units of cooperation. Such loyalty groups influence institutional development because intra-group moral commitment reduces enforcement cost implying a comparative advantage in pursuing collective actions. Loyalty groups perpetuate due to positive feedbacks between morality, institutions, and the implied pattern of cooperation.

JEL-codes: A10 N00 (search for similar items in EconPapers)
Date: 2015
References: View references in EconPapers View complete reference list from CitEc
Citations: View citations in EconPapers (8)

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Journal Article: The clan and the corporation: Sustaining cooperation in China and Europe (2017)
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Persistent link: https://EconPapers.repec.org/RePEc:ces:ceswps:_5233

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