 Kin Networks and Institutional DevelopmentJonathan F Schulz The Economic Journal, 2022, vol. 132, issue 647, 2578-2613 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. Date: 2022 Downloads: (external link) Related works: Export reference: BibTeX RIS (EndNote, ProCite, RefMan) HTML/Text Persistent link: https://EconPapers.repec.org/RePEc:oup:econjl:v:132:y:2022:i:647:p:2578-2613. Ordering information: This journal article can be ordered from Access Statistics for this article The Economic Journal is currently edited by Francesco Lippi More articles in The Economic Journal from Royal Economic Society Contact information at EDIRC. |
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