In this CSES Lecture Series Paul Ingram, Columbia Business School, considers the influences on entering into ‘dirty business’ or economic activity that violates cultural values. He considers individual disposition to violate norms as a function of status, social contagion in a network, where status determines influence, and the role of a social movement to ignite attention to the norms and their violation. Paul analyzes who entered the Liverpool slave trade. He finds that high status Gentlemen were more likely to do so, and that they were highly influential on the behavior of their network partners. The abolition movement affected an increase in the magnitude of social influence, and shifted the balance of influence in favor of non-slavers.

In this interview, Jack Goldstone discusses his educational background, research trajectory, recent book and empirical findings, insights into sociology and economics, and thoughts on future trends and social problems.

Jack Goldstone presented his research on “Cultural and Technical Innovation: The Twin Foundations of Economic Growth” on February 28th, 2013 as part of the CSES Lecture Series.

James Robinson, Harvard University, discussed his recent book Why Nations Fail on September 28, 2012 as part of the 2012-13 CSES Lecture Series. In this lecture, Prof. Robinson answers the question that has stumped the experts for centuries: Why are some nations rich and others poor, divided by wealth and poverty, health and sickness, food and famine? Is it culture, the weather, geography? Perhaps ignorance of what the right policies are? Simply, no. None of these factors is either definitive or destiny. Otherwise, how to explain why Botswana has become one of the fastest-growing countries in the world, while other African nations, such as Zimbabwe, the Congo, and Sierra Leone, are mired in poverty and violence? Daron Acemoglu and James Robinson conclusively show that it is man-made political and economic institutions that underlie economic success (or the lack of it).