Citation

Cecchi F, Duchoslav J. Eur. Econ. Rev. 2018; 101: 35-56.

Copyright

(Copyright © 2018, Elsevier Publishing)

DOI

10.1016/j.euroecorev.2017.09.015

PMID

unavailable

Abstract

Are preferences endogenously determined in the womb? We play a public goods game with Ugandan children born during a conflict characterised by high civilian victimisation. Children whose caregivers suffer from post-traumatic stress disorder are more likely to free-ride in the game. Genetic and environmental factors alone do not explain the relationship, but children's 2D:4D digit ratio - a marker of fetal hormone exposure associated with epigenetic effects of maternal distress - does. Our findings extend the fetal origins literature to the domain of preferences. By reducing next generation's taste for cooperation, conflict may have father-reaching economic consequences than previously thought.

Language: en

Keywords

Conflict; Cooperation; Digit ratio; Fetal origins; Prenatal stress