Abstract
Understanding the causes and consequences of language evolution in relation to social factors is challenging as we generally lack a clear picture of how languages coevolve with historical social processes. Research analyzing the relation between language and socio-economic factors relies on contemporaneous data. Because of this, such analysis may be plagued by spurious correlation concerns coming from the historical co-evolution and dependency of the relationship between language and behavior to the institutional environment. To solve this problem, we propose migrations to the same country as a microevolutionary step that may uncover constraints on behavior. We detail strategies available to other researchers by applying the epidemiological approach to study the correlation between sex-based gender distinctions and female labor force participation. Our main finding is that language must have evolved partly as a result of cultural change, but also that it may have directly constrained the evolution of norms. We conclude by discussing implications for the coevolution of language and behavior, and by comparing different methodological approaches.
Highlights
We propose a new methodology to address this component of the identification problem: the application of the epidemiological approach
We propose that extending this approach to study language correlations with cultural and socio-economic outcomes is a fruitful avenue for future research
Our application and analysis has centered on presenting a set of simple yet powerful strategies that the epidemiological approach makes possible
Summary
Sharing a common ancestor (language families) or spillovers via contact with neighboring languages in the past (linguistic areas) may generate spurious correlations between language and behavior It hinders our understanding of whether linguistic characteristics reflect changes in socio-economic relations and culture, whether they evolve independently, or even if they constraint and influence directly behavior. An empirical analysis of the relationship between languages’ FTR and (financial) savings behavior could falsely conclude that there is no relationship It is possible for the estimated magnitude and significance of observed correlations between linguistic and socioeconomic behaviors to depend on the institutional environment within which individuals operate
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