Simulating the effect of nepotism on political risk taking and social unrest

Lawrence A. Kuznar () and William Frederick ()
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Lawrence A. Kuznar: Indiana University – Purdue University
William Frederick: Indiana University – Purdue University

Computational and Mathematical Organization Theory, 2007, vol. 13, issue 1, No 3, 29-37

Abstract: Abstract Nepotism has been the primary influence on political behavior throughout human history. Despite the spread of democracy in the 20th century, nepotistic regimes have hardly disappeared. Nepotism heavily influences political activity throughout the developing world, Middle East, and central Asia where family ties are essential for gaining access to power, state resources, and privileges. Rebelling against such nepotistic regimes is difficult and risky. RiskTaker is an agent-based model we developed for testing the influences of various social forces on risk taking behavior, including the formulation of rebellious coalitions. We use RiskTaker to examine the influence of nepotism on the distribution of wealth and social status. Nepotism heavily skews the distribution of wealth and status, leading to the formation of opposing coalitions and exacerbating social unrest.

Keywords: Risk sensitivity; Inequality; Nepotism; Agent-based modeling; Social unrest; Terrorism (search for similar items in EconPapers)
Date: 2007
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DOI: 10.1007/s10588-006-9008-1

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