VoxEU.org: Recent Articles

---

The effect of calamities and shared identity on altruism and reciprocity Posted: The evolution of altruism is an intensely studied phenomena in both the natural and social sciences. This column presents novel evidence from a large-scale survey conducted in August 2020 across nine European countries measuring how trust, reciprocity, and altruism are affected by economic interests, shared values, and a major health crisis. It finds that while altruism is enhanced by shared identities or crises, interpersonal trust is not. Common economic interests have little impact on altruism or reciprocity, suggesting that economic concerns alone cannot build social cohesion.

Parental age and birth disorders: A sibling study Posted: Although increased parental age has been a suspected risk factor for adverse offspring outcomes, the findings from the existing medical and epidemiological literature are mixed. The existing literature compares children with parents of different age across families, which is problematic because both parental age and birth defects may correlate with genetic variables and socioeconomic background. This column argues that when using a more appropriate methodology, comparing children within families – i.e. between siblings – there are strong and negative effects of parental ageing on offspring outcomes, with implications for public policy.

You are subscribed to email updates from VoxEU.org: Recent Articles. To stop receiving these emails, you may unsubscribe now.	Email delivery powered by Google
Google, 1600 Amphitheatre Parkway, Mountain View, CA 94043, United States