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The Network Formation Origin of Tribal Societies

Author

Listed:
  • Javier Mejía
Abstract
This paper proposes a network formation model for explaining the stability of tribal societies. The model is supported by the idea that every two members of a tribe should have benefited from being connected to each other in order for the whole tribe to be stable. It also considers the constraints that the ecosystem brought to social interaction in pre-modern contexts. The model has three predictions. First, both homogeneous and heterogeneous tribes could have been stable regardless of technological development. Second, the social complexity of tribes was a function of technological development (having access to agriculture should have enabled the emergence of larger and more complex societies), interaction costs (if they were too low or too high, no complex society should have emerged), and environmental conditions (poor ecosystems should not have allowed the formation of complex societies). Finally, the model predicts that collapses of agricultural societies could not come from environmental pressures, but from high interaction costs. The predictions are consistent with some of the most relevant human history patterns.

Suggested Citation

  • Javier Mejía, 2018. "The Network Formation Origin of Tribal Societies," Documentos CEDE 16381, Universidad de los Andes, Facultad de Economía, CEDE.
    • Handle: RePEc:col:000089:016381
    as

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    File URL: https://repositorio.uniandes.edu.co/bitstream/handle/1992/41032/dcede2018-33.pdf
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    References listed on IDEAS

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    More about this item

    Keywords

    Tribes; hunter-gatherers; network formation; social complexity; societal collapse.;
    All these keywords.

    JEL classification:

    • D85 - Microeconomics - - Information, Knowledge, and Uncertainty - - - Network Formation
    • J11 - Labor and Demographic Economics - - Demographic Economics - - - Demographic Trends, Macroeconomic Effects, and Forecasts
    • N30 - Economic History - - Labor and Consumers, Demography, Education, Health, Welfare, Income, Wealth, Religion, and Philanthropy - - - General, International, or Comparative
    • Z13 - Other Special Topics - - Cultural Economics - - - Economic Sociology; Economic Anthropology; Language; Social and Economic Stratification

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