Abstract
AbstractMany years ago, Emmanuel Todd came up with a classification of family types and argued that the historically prevalent family types in a society have important consequences for its economic, political, and social development. Here, we evaluate Todd's most important predictions empirically. Relying on a parsimonious model with exogenous covariates, we find mixed results. On the one hand, authoritarian family types are, in stark contrast to Todd's predictions, associated with increased levels of the rule of law and innovation. On the other hand, and in line with Todd's expectations, communitarian family types are linked to racism, low levels of the rule of law, and late industrialization. Countries in which endogamy is frequently practiced also display an expectedly high level of state fragility and weak civil society organizations.
Highlights
Over the last decade, economists have become interested in identifying the ‘deep causes’ of economic development – instead of only its proximate causes, such as investment in physical and human capital
Among them is Emmanuel Todd (1985) who claims that family structures are extremely stable over time, and that they determine: (1) ideological convictions, (2) state formation, (3) constitutional structure, and (4) post-constitutional outcomes of societies
If family types are as important as Todd claims, economists interested in identifying possible transmission channels from geographic conditions to economic and political development would do better to take them into account
Summary
Economists have become interested in identifying the ‘deep causes’ of economic development – instead of only its proximate causes, such as investment in physical and human capital. Others have examined the role of cultural and genetic differences within and between populations as causes of economic development (Ashraf and Galor, 2013; Gorodnichenko and Roland, 2017; Spolaore and Wacziarg, 2009). A number of anthropologists argue that family types – often referred to as family structures or family systems – are an important determinant of development, for example in terms of fertility and education levels. If family types are as important as Todd claims, economists interested in identifying possible transmission channels from geographic conditions to economic and political development would do better to take them into account.
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