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ROCKING OUR PRIORS
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ROCKING OUR PRIORS

Author: Dr Alice Evans

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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.
175 Episodes
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The Patriarchal Political Order: Soledad Artiz Prillaman by Dr Alice Evans
Slave-Raiding, Solidarity and Status in Africa by Dr Alice Evans
Sub-Saharan Africa's Economic Stagnation by Dr Alice Evans
What Would Reduce Female Genital Cutting? by Dr Alice Evans
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 jokes & data. Paper on Mumbai: https://www.dropbox.com/scl/fo/z3v4gxqpkvc4p9ntjy0ie/h?dl=0&e=1&preview=Jalota_Suhani_WhatWorksForHer.pdf&rlkey=ca71mbrtewdo92exnmop1q0b8 Paper on West Bengal: https://www.dropbox.com/scl/fi/vyzkrzwv2xlce1woj9hcm/lisaho_jmp_hjk_bwh.pdf?rlkey=aj66ghiptyslj5l7lawr9kzgs&e=1&dl=0
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, female managers and politicians are more strongly disliked. They may even trigger backlash. This is a novel theory of gender inequality. I believe it helps explain why Russia and Nigeria’s parliaments are almost entirely male, just like Korean and Japanese male-dominated management. If I’m right, then Scandinavia’s feminist secret is not so much about gender, but rather an evolution of moral and political egalitarianism.
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 this change? On International Women’s Day, I’d like to highlight a hugely important (but widely overlooked) driver of gender equality. In fact, this mechanism is so powerful that it is actively suppressed by many patriarchal societies. ROMANTIC LOVE
What’s the Future of the US Labor Movement? Suresh Naidu by Dr Alice Evans
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 very obvious.
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, where self-assertion is strongly disliked, feminist activism is more likely to trigger patriarchal backlash. This is a hugely important, but widely overlooked driver of ‘the Great Gender Divergence’.
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 it. As a social scientist, I am not so squeamish. So I’ll say it…
East Asian societies tend to idealise: - Meritocracy and reverence for education - Upward mobility and economic prosperity (trumping the afterlife) - Collective harmony.
Hostile Sexism in South Korea: Professor Jouen Kim by Dr Alice Evans
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’ and vote for leftists, while young men remain more conservative. What explains this global heterogeneity?
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?
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 places - like Saudi Arabia, Malaysia and South Korea - remain quite conservative. India’s economic growth has not delivered secularism, but Hindu nationalism. Why explains this global cultural divergence?
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 chastity was crucial for family honour, women were also tightly restricted. But, over the 20th century, East Asian women increasingly undertook paid work in the public sphere, forged solidarity and gained status. Growth also catalysed a broader process of cultural liberalisation: autonomy, dating, and divorce. South Asian patriarchy is much more persistent. Intimate partner violence remains normalised. To explain this divergence, I suggest that every patrilocal family faces a trade-off between honour (achieved by social policing) and income (earned by exploiting female labour). East Asian female employment rose because rising wages compensated for honour. East Asian culture also differed: they lacked endogamy and were less concerned about female seclusion. This is the audio track of my new paper. For ease of listening, I have not added the references into the audio track. If you wish to read the full paper, it is here: https://drive.google.com/file/d/1VFEFazSbYM2jPVeqC2EUJDcRyHcuNqpD/view?usp=sharing
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. Husbands said no. The paper: https://www.dropbox.com/scl/fo/z3v4gxqpkvc4p9ntjy0ie/h?preview=WfH_JMP+(47).pdf&rlkey=ca71mbrtewdo92exnmop1q0b8&dl=0 My Substack: https://draliceevans.substack.com/p/why-did-poor-indian-women-reject?utm_source=profile&utm_medium=reader2
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 dictator. Political authority was then consolidated under a dictator, with elite slave soldiers, who were compensated with non-hereditary land grants. Absolutist rule was then legitimised by clerics. Authoritarianism persists if propped up by rents (oil or foreign aid). Where rents declined, these societies erupted in civil war (like Somalia). Where Islam spread through trade, these societies remained more cohesive. So when rents declined, they democratised. It's one of the most fascinating books I've read in 2023. I strongly recommend it and hope you enjoy our podcast.
Stopping Sexual Harassment by Dr Alice Evans
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