People quasi-randomly assigned to farm rice are more collectivistic than people assigned to farm wheat

Thomas Talhelm () and Xiawei Dong
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Thomas Talhelm: University of Chicago Booth School of Business
Xiawei Dong: Hong Kong University of Science and Technology

Nature Communications, 2024, vol. 15, issue 1, 1-10

Abstract: Abstract The rice theory of culture argues that the high labor demands and interdependent irrigation networks of paddy rice farming makes cultures more collectivistic than wheat-farming cultures. Despite prior evidence, proving causality is difficult because people are not randomly assigned to farm rice. In this study, we take advantage of a unique time when the Chinese government quasi-randomly assigned people to farm rice or wheat in two state farms that are otherwise nearly identical. The rice farmers show less individualism, more loyalty/nepotism toward a friend over a stranger, and more relational thought style. These results rule out confounds in tests of the rice theory, such as temperature, latitude, and historical events. The differences suggest rice-wheat cultural differences can form in a single generation.

Date: 2024
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DOI: 10.1038/s41467-024-44770-w

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