Communal lands and social capital: A case study

Daniel Oto-Peralías ()
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Daniel Oto-Peralías: Department of Economics, Universidad Pablo de Olavide

No 23.09, Working Papers from Universidad Pablo de Olavide, Department of Economics

Abstract: This paper explores the link between the historical presence of communal goods and the emergence of social capital. I conduct a survey to compare individuals from a town where communal lands have persisted since medieval times with individuals from neighboring-similar towns. I find that individuals exposed to communal lands have higher local social capital as they trust their neighbors more, have more local altruism, are more interested in local politics, and have a better knowledge about the town’s politics and history. Importantly, the effect is mainly present in individuals with family roots in the town, and there is no evidence of a positive effect on social capital beyond the local community.

Keywords: common lands; social capital; history; Spain. (search for similar items in EconPapers)
JEL-codes: D64 N36 (search for similar items in EconPapers)
Pages: 29 pages
Date: 2023
New Economics Papers: this item is included in nep-evo, nep-his and nep-ure
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Persistent link: https://EconPapers.repec.org/RePEc:pab:wpaper:23.09

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