ROCKING OUR PRIORS

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?

Exploring the cultural divergence of prosperous countries despite economic development. The relationship between economic development, individualism, and cultural norms. The correlation between labor-intensive agriculture and cultural tightness. The Rice theory's influence on culture and institutions. The impact of kinship intensity on social dynamics and conservatism.

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