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Folklore.

Stelios Michalopoulos1, Melanie Meng Xue2

  • 1Brown University, Center for Economic Policy and Research, and National Bureau of Economic Research, United States.

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Summary
This summary is machine-generated.

Folklore, encompassing traditional stories and beliefs, significantly impacts cultural economics. Analyzing oral traditions reveals how societal norms like gender roles and risk aversion are shaped by these narratives.

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Area of Science:

  • Cultural Economics
  • Anthropology
  • Sociology

Background:

  • Folklore comprises traditional beliefs, customs, and stories transmitted orally across generations.
  • A unique catalog of oral traditions from approximately 1,000 societies has been compiled.
  • The catalog's motifs have been validated against known geographic and social attributes.

Purpose of the Study:

  • To introduce a novel catalog of oral traditions to economic analysis.
  • To demonstrate applications in expanding ethnographic records and analyzing cultural traits.
  • To explore the relationship between folklore and societal characteristics.

Main Methods:

  • Cataloging and validating oral traditions from diverse societies.
  • Utilizing machine learning and human classification for trait analysis.
  • Analyzing correlations between folklore motifs and societal attributes (e.g., political complexity, gender roles, risk tolerance, trust).

Main Results:

  • Folklore motifs reflect known geographic and social attributes.
  • Analysis of tales reveals links between dominant male narratives and women's subordinate positions.
  • Societies with risk-averse narratives exhibit less entrepreneurial populations.
  • Communities punishing antisocial behavior (tricksters) display higher trust and prosperity.

Conclusions:

  • Folklore is a significant, yet underutilized, resource in cultural economics.
  • Oral traditions offer insights into historical and contemporary societal structures and behaviors.
  • Further applications of folklore analysis in economics are warranted.