This paper introduces a new approach to "cultural transmission of preferences" (see Bisin and Verdier, 2000, 2001). It is based on the conceptualization of the culture of a person as a set of cultural values and attitudes, represented as an n-dimensional tuple in Euclidean space. The culture of...

This paper introduces a generalized representation of the formation of continuous preferences (which can reflect different intensities). The preference intensity that a child adopts is formed as the collective outcome of all role models for preference intensities - which are derived from the...

Development literature has recently promoted the use of producer organization in linking farmers to better-paying commodity markets. However, empirical studies find mixed performance of such organizations. This study examines the producer organization’s internal factors that may explain the...

Institutional problems and the corruptive use of social capital give ground for misuse ofinstitutional gaps and cause intentional failures for financial benefits. Based on socialcapital theory and transaction cost economics (TCE) this paper describes how theinstitutional environment in the...

Objective of this paper is to analyse themotivations in the purchase of Fair Trade (FT) foodproducts sold in the World Shops (WS) in order tocharacterize WS consumer profiles according to theethical content of their motivations. A questionnaire hasbeen distributed, at this end, to a sample of...

Social Network Capital and Academic Careers: The Case of a College of AgricultureABSTRACT The relationship between economic performance and various forms of capital anchors a significant portion of mainstream economic theory and applied economics. Human, physical and financial capital represent...

This Thesis contains three essays on the economic behavior of individuals. The first essay, co-authored with Andreas Blume and Douglas DeJong is an experimental investigation into the contribution of cognition in a strategic setting where the goal is to coordinate by choosing different courses...

Drawing on the social embeddedness perspective, this paper examines the impact of entrepreneurs' social capital on their firm performance in post-Soviet Russia. Based on face-to-face interviews with 75 Russian entrepreneurs in 1995, and the follow-up study in 1999, the study contrasts the...

The development and evolution of labor market structures and institutions. Particular focus on competing explanations of recent developments in the distribution of wage and salary income and in key institutions and organizational structures. Special attention to theories of worker motivation and...