ROCKING OUR PRIORS

By Dr Alice Evans

Education

What's ROCKING OUR PRIORS about?

Dr Alice Evans and leading experts discuss growth, governance, & gender inequalities.

Alice is a Senior Lecturer at King's College London, and Faculty Associate at the Harvard Kennedy School.

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ROCKING OUR PRIORS episodes:

04.22.2024
What led to the demise of foot-binding?
What led to the demise of foot-binding? by Dr Alice Evans
04.09.2024
Who are the world's most influential philosophers?
Who are the world's most influential philosophers? by Dr Alice Evans
04.05.2024
What prevents Hindu-Muslim conflict? Saumitra Jha
Saumitra Jha (Associate Professor of Political Economy at the Stanford Graduate School of Business) joins me to discuss what prevents Hindu-Muslim conflict. We discuss his paper on "Trade, Institutions, and Ethnic Tolerance: Evidence from South Asia" https://www.cambridge.org/core/journals/american-political-science-review/article/trade-institutions-and-ethnic-tolerance-evidence-from-south-asia/534E0018C1431E7A7615B4FAD26DEB3E
03.29.2024
Is Pakistan becoming more Patriarchal?
Over the 20th century, the entire world became more gender equal. Or so I thought. But Pakistan has rocked my priors. Female employment has slightly risen. Meanwhile, young Pakistani women are more sexist than their grandmothers. What is going on? Charts...
03.23.2024
The Patriarchal Political Order: Soledad Artiz Prillaman
The Patriarchal Political Order: Soledad Artiz Prillaman by Dr Alice Evans
03.18.2024
Slave-Raiding, Solidarity and Status in Africa
Slave-Raiding, Solidarity and Status in Africa by Dr Alice Evans
03.14.2024
Sub-Saharan Africa's Economic Stagnation
Sub-Saharan Africa's Economic Stagnation by Dr Alice Evans
03.14.2024
What Would Reduce Female Genital Cutting?
What Would Reduce Female Genital Cutting? by Dr Alice Evans
03.10.2024
Why is female employment low in India? How might that change? Suhani Jalota & Lisa Ho
Why is India's female labour force participation so low? And how might that change? Suhani Jalota and Lisa Ho share insights from their brilliant work in Mumbai and West Bengal. This discussion is superbly insightly and great fun. Stay tuned for...
03.09.2024
Does Egalitarianism enable more Gender Equality?
If everyone is equal, it’s much more acceptable for women to get to the top. In societies where no one is special, men seem much more accepting of female leadership. Whereas in hierarchical cultures, where subordinates must bow to their bosses,...
03.08.2024
Romantic Love is an Under-Rated Driver of Gender Equality
Patriarchy is reinforced by fraternal solidarity. The Athenian demos, German guilds, Tswana kgotla, Chinese imperial dynasties, Muslim Brotherhood and Indian caste panchayats all reinforced male dominance. As long as men are united, bound in collective loyalty, women are secondary. How might...
03.01.2024
What’s the Future of the US Labor Movement? Suresh Naidu
What’s the Future of the US Labor Movement? Suresh Naidu by Dr Alice Evans
02.25.2024
Why Do East Asian Firms Value Drinking?
East Asian businesses often go out drinking. Why is this such an important part of corporate culture, relative to other world regions? A month ago, I didn’t know. Now, after my interviews with people in China and Korea, the answer is...
02.22.2024
Ideals of Collective Harmony
In some societies, collective harmony is more highly valued than self-expression. If people are reluctant to speak out, prior culture is more likely to persist unchallenged. Caring deeply about social approval amplifies fears of ostracism and motivates quiet conformity. Moreover,...
02.22.2024
Ideals of Upward Mobility
What I am about to say may make you feel uncomfortable. Some may even find it offensive. In some circles, it’s still a distasteful taboo. Westerners rarely speak about it publicly, certainly not directly, even though most people definitely want...
02.22.2024
How is East Asian culture different?
East Asian societies tend to idealise: - Meritocracy and reverence for education - Upward mobility and economic prosperity (trumping the afterlife) - Collective harmony.
02.16.2024
Hostile Sexism in South Korea: Professor Jouen Kim
Hostile Sexism in South Korea: Professor Jouen Kim by Dr Alice Evans
01.27.2024
What Prevents & What Drives Gendered Ideological Polarisation?
Across much of the world, men and women think alike. However, in countries that are economically developed and culturally liberal, young men and women are polarising. As chronicled by John Burn-Murdoch, young women are increasingly likely to identify as ‘progressives’...
01.22.2024
How do Exogamy and Endogamy shape Economics and Culture?
Exogamy and endogamy aren’t just about who marries your daughter, but with whom you barter, truck and exchange. Marriage was fundamentally about economics. So how did exogamy and endogamy shape economics and culture?
01.21.2024
Why are some rich countries conservative?
In the West economic development spawned individualism and the spirit of ‘68. Modernisation theorists predicted that growth would deliver liberalism worldwide. Inglehart and Welzel argued that post-industrial societies would champion self-expression. But in fact, this has not transpired. Many prosperous...
01.18.2024
How East Asia overtook South Asia on Gender
In 1900, East and South Asia were extremely patriarchal. Men were revered as high status, while female sacrifice was glorified. By socialising women to marry, obey their in-laws and stay put, Asian families consolidated trusted networks of social cooperation. Since...
12.30.2023
Why do Poor Indian Women Reject Office Jobs?
Why is Indian female labour force participation ultra low? To investigate, Suhani Jalota and Lisa Ho ran a Randomised Control Trial in Mumbai. They find that most women reject high-paying office jobs. This is not due to housework or childcare....
10.07.2023
"Conquest & Rents": Professor Faisal Ahmed
Muslim societies are more likely to be authoritarian and marred in civil war. The big question is why? Faisal Ahmed presents a new theory: “Conquest and Rents”. He suggests that where Islam spread via military conquest, political authority was consolidated under a...
09.16.2023
Stopping Sexual Harassment
Stopping Sexual Harassment by Dr Alice Evans
09.16.2023
“The Two-Parent Privilege”
“The Two-Parent Privilege” by Dr Alice Evans
09.09.2023
Can We End Alcohol Abuse?
One feasible way to massively reduce violence is to tackle alcohol abuse. It is one of the single largest predictors of gender based violence worldwide, and it is not inevitable. Religious prohibitions, government bans and higher taxes can substantially reduce...
08.29.2023
The Rise and Fall of the East, Professor Yasheng Huang
A conversation with MIT Professor Yasheng Huang Why is the CCP so resilient? How did the keju imperial examinations shape Chinese autocracy and culture? What does South Korea tell us about growth, democratisation and culture? Discussing his new book: https://yalebooks.co.uk/page/detail/the-rise-and-fall-of-the-east/?k=9780300266368
08.26.2023
How to Study the Rise of the Far Right?
Why do a quarter of European young men say they’ll vote for the far right? It’s not just men. In France, The Netherlands and Belgium, the far right is equally popular with women. Existing scholarship has emphasised regional development traps, economic anxiety,...
08.25.2023
Why are Gender Pay Gaps so Huge in Japan and South Korea?
All East Asian tigers have converged economically with rich industrialised democracies, but only some have converged culturally, in terms of gender equality. Why is this?
08.22.2023
Confidence, Competitiveness and Institutions
Men comprise 90% of heads of state, 90% of Fortune 500 CEOs, and 90% of applications for patents. Prestigious positions are dominated by men. Why is this? Motherhood, discrimination, social networks and patriarchal institutions all play a role. But there may...
08.22.2023
How does Rural Prosperity affect Marriages in Bangladesh?
Poverty entrenches cousin marriage and patriarchal controls. What happens when crop yields improve and families become wealthier? Mobabark, Kuhn & Peters's paper is here: https://spinup-000d1a-wp-offload-media.s3.amazonaws.com/faculty/wp-content/uploads/sites/45/2019/06/marriage-market2.pdf
08.16.2023
Extreme Flooding worsens Early Marriage & Early Motherhood
Monsoon rains can cause enormous damage. Extreme floods are becoming more frequent, alongside global warming. Extreme flooding may increase early marriage and early childbirth, while lowering schooling. This comes from an important new paper in the Journal of Population Economics,...
08.16.2023
The East Asian Miracle (for women)
Societies vary in their preference for female seclusion. But regardless of culture, female employment rises with job-creating growth. Singapore provides a perfect natural experiment, we can observe how 3 different ethnic groups responded to industrialisation.
08.16.2023
Does Emigration foster Conservatism?
Panel data provides useful information about attitudinal change in that place. But even if certain countries show persistent traditionalism, we cannot assume this is due to culture. It’s possible - as in Eastern Europe - that many liberals have simply...
08.09.2023
How can rich countries promote gender equality in development cooperation?
The UK government will publish a white paper on international development by the end of 2023. It will set out their approach to international development to 2030. How can they best support gender equality? I have 7 evidence-based suggestions - relating...
08.09.2023
Does Fiction Foster Empathy?
By immersing ourselves in another person’s trials and tribulations, are we better able to recognise diverse perspectives and constraints? Might reading fiction, viewing plays and watching television have helped Americans become culturally looser - more open-minded and tolerant?
08.08.2023
Can Social Media Campaigns undo Sexism?
Egypt is one of the most patriarchal countries in the world. 90% of men say that ‘a woman should tolerate violence to keep the family together’. A new paper in Nature examines whether these attitudes can be changed through social...
08.08.2023
Culture and Jobs in Asia
A new NBER paper by Barbara Fraumeni sheds light on how culture mediates gender gaps in education and employment. https://www.nber.org/papers/w31535 My Substack: https://draliceevans.substack.com/p/culture-and-job-in-asia
08.06.2023
"Freedoms Delayed": Timur Kuran (review)
Why does the Middle East rank poorly for rule of law, trust, civil liberties and corruption? Waqfs and apostasy rules are the root causes, argues Timur Kuran This podcast reviews his new book, "Freedoms Delayed".
08.04.2023
"Outsourcing Repression": Professor Lynette Ong
How has the CCP maintained control? - Coercive violence is outsourced to thugs, enabling the state to maintain legitimacy. - Respected social networks engage in ideological propaganda & persuasion (sometimes via shaming). Tremendous new book by Professor Lynette Ong Book: https://global.oup.com/academic/product/outsourcing-repression-9780197628768?cc=gb&lang=en&
08.02.2023
“Putin vs. the People”: Greene & Robertson (review)
In “Putin vs. the People”, Samuel Greene and Graham Robertson suggest the annexation of Crimea triggered a groundswell of national pride. Russians rallied for the flag. They saw Putin more positively, turned a blind-eye to corruption, and even became more...
07.30.2023
The Origins of States
What led to the emergence of states? David Schönholzer and Pieter François have a fascinating new paper, arguing that states, cooperation and conflict all emerged more quickly and more typically in places with great farming and weak exit options. Their paper:...
07.28.2023
Wartime Patriarchs
When states are under siege, they militarise. Frightened publics want bellicose leaders and higher military spending. Once in power, militarists entrench their institutional and cultural dominance. They fan fears, act tough, and secure public support. Conflicts change popular priorities, not least...
07.26.2023
Did Gulags make Russians Anti-Gay?
Prisons may have far-reaching effects on culture, especially where incarceration is widespread. Russia has high rates of both imprisonment and homophobia. 66% of Russians don’t want gay neighbours. That’s increased from 58% in 1999. Almost everywhere elsewhere in Europe, homophobia...
07.25.2023
Does Patriarchal Policing Suppress Innovation?
Culturally tight societies tend to have fewer innovations. Could asymmetric cultural policing help explain women's lower share of patents and leadership? Xin Qin et al 2023: https://academic.oup.com/pnasnexus/advance-article/doi/10.1093/pnasnexus/pgad238/7227277 Link to all papers: https://draliceevans.substack.com/p/does-patriarchal-policing-suppress
07.24.2023
Corruption & Votes for Women
A wealth of evidence from the US, Eastern Europe and Latin America suggests that when voters are concerned about corruption, they favour female outsiders. Graphs and links to articles can be found at https://draliceevans.substack.com/p/corruption-and-votes-for-women
07.23.2023
What does "Barbie" get wrong about patriarchy?
The new “Barbie” film portrays the rise and fall of patriarchy. I have assessed its empirical accuracy. If you’ve watched it and want to reflect on real world parallels, you might enjoy my review. But if you just want to enjoy...
07.22.2023
The Rise of the Right in Southern Europe
Right-wing parties have surged to power in Italy and Greece. Spaniards vote tomorrow, it may be for a right-wing government. What explains this trend? Economic stagnation has exacerbated frustrations, especially around masculinity. Men can no longer provide for their families...
07.21.2023
"Conquests & Rents" by Faisal Ahmed (review)
Everyone knows that Muslim societies are more likely to be authoritarian and marred in civil war. The typical Muslim society is twice as likely to experience a civil war with 1000 battle deaths a year. The big question is why? Islamic...
07.20.2023
Working-Class Men's Patriarchal Nostalgia
‘Good jobs’ for high school graduates have dwindled. Manufacturing and other manual-intensive occupations that on average paid substantially higher salaries than services have disappeared. This has undercut men’s ability to provide, bruised their egos, fostered patriarchal nostalgia, and catalysed votes...

What's ROCKING OUR PRIORS about?

Download our free app to listen on your phone

ROCKING OUR PRIORS episodes:

What led to the demise of foot-binding?

Who are the world's most influential philosophers?

What prevents Hindu-Muslim conflict? Saumitra Jha

Is Pakistan becoming more Patriarchal?

The Patriarchal Political Order: Soledad Artiz Prillaman

Slave-Raiding, Solidarity and Status in Africa

Sub-Saharan Africa's Economic Stagnation

What Would Reduce Female Genital Cutting?

Why is female employment low in India? How might that change? Suhani Jalota & Lisa Ho

Does Egalitarianism enable more Gender Equality?

Romantic Love is an Under-Rated Driver of Gender Equality

What’s the Future of the US Labor Movement? Suresh Naidu

Why Do East Asian Firms Value Drinking?

Ideals of Collective Harmony

Ideals of Upward Mobility

How is East Asian culture different?

Hostile Sexism in South Korea: Professor Jouen Kim

What Prevents & What Drives Gendered Ideological Polarisation?

How do Exogamy and Endogamy shape Economics and Culture?

Why are some rich countries conservative?

How East Asia overtook South Asia on Gender

Why do Poor Indian Women Reject Office Jobs?

"Conquest & Rents": Professor Faisal Ahmed

Stopping Sexual Harassment

“The Two-Parent Privilege”

Can We End Alcohol Abuse?

The Rise and Fall of the East, Professor Yasheng Huang

How to Study the Rise of the Far Right?

Why are Gender Pay Gaps so Huge in Japan and South Korea?

Confidence, Competitiveness and Institutions

How does Rural Prosperity affect Marriages in Bangladesh?

Extreme Flooding worsens Early Marriage & Early Motherhood

The East Asian Miracle (for women)

Does Emigration foster Conservatism?

How can rich countries promote gender equality in development cooperation?

Does Fiction Foster Empathy?

Can Social Media Campaigns undo Sexism?

Culture and Jobs in Asia

"Freedoms Delayed": Timur Kuran (review)

"Outsourcing Repression": Professor Lynette Ong

“Putin vs. the People”: Greene & Robertson (review)

The Origins of States

Wartime Patriarchs

Did Gulags make Russians Anti-Gay?

Does Patriarchal Policing Suppress Innovation?

Corruption & Votes for Women

What does "Barbie" get wrong about patriarchy?

The Rise of the Right in Southern Europe

"Conquests & Rents" by Faisal Ahmed (review)

Working-Class Men's Patriarchal Nostalgia