Small‑scale, persistent differences in household organization (extended patrilineal kin networks versus nuclear families) can systematically shape whether a society develops impersonal, scalable institutions (banks, corporate forms, litigation norms) that enable large‑scale innovation and capital formation. Over centuries these demographic‑social patterns bias cooperation toward kin or strangers and thereby channel political and economic evolution.
— If family form is a durable, causal input into institutional development, policymakers should consider social‑network effects (not just formal law) when designing innovation policy, financial inclusion, and institutional reforms.
Jerusalem Demsas
2025.12.31
82% relevant
Demsas argues that childhood dependency and parental control shape social outcomes and politics; this directly links to the existing idea that family structure conditions institutional trajectories and economic/political development—both center the family as a causal mechanism rather than a mere background factor. The article’s claims about modernity increasing dependency and parents policing peer groups (school sorting) are concrete examples of the same mechanism.
Asheesh Agarwal
2025.12.29
100% relevant
The review summarizes Mokyr et al.’s core claim that China’s patrilineal kinship and Confucian filial norms discouraged impersonal contracting and litigation, whereas Europe’s nuclear‑family norms promoted stranger‑trust and written legal instruments.
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