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Economics, Values, and Cognitive Ability

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The Parasite-Stress Theory of Values and Sociality

Abstract

The parasite‐stress hypothesis of economics proposes that variation in infectious disease across regions causes variation in economic productivity by three proximate causes. (1) Infectious diseases cause morbidity, reducing people’s capability to produce. (2) Parasite stress evokes people’s values, which, in turn, cause regional economic parameters. For example, as parasite stress increases, regions become increasingly collectivistic. Collectivism causes parochial economics, political corruption, autocratic governance, and reduced innovativeness and diffusion of innovations. These effects stifle economic productivity of a region. In contrast, individualism causes willingness to transact with a diversity of people, creating broad economies and interregional sharing of ideas and products, increased innovativeness, governmental transparency, and democracy. These effects promote economic prosperity and equality. (3) Infectious disease limits cognitive ability, which reduces innovativeness and thus economic well-being in a region. Evidence supporting this framework is both diverse and copious. We discuss the established negative relationships between two important economic indicators, GDP per capita and Gini, and parasite stress and collectivism across the countries of the world. Studies also have confirmed the negative relationship between the diffusion of various innovations and parasite stress and collectivism across countries and US states. Evidence shows that even the routine purchases of people at supermarkets are consistent with the parasite-stress theory of values. We also discuss research indicating that parasite-stress variation across the globe affected wealth of regions as far back as 1500 ad. Cognitive ability is correlated negatively with parasite stress and collectivism both across countries and US states.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Department of Biology, The University of New Mexico, Albuquerque, NM, USA

    Randy Thornhill

  2. Department of Psychology, The University of Warwick, Coventry, UK

    Corey L. Fincher

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  1. Randy Thornhill
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  2. Corey L. Fincher
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Thornhill, R., Fincher, C.L. (2014). Economics, Values, and Cognitive Ability. In: The Parasite-Stress Theory of Values and Sociality. Springer, Cham. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-319-08040-6_11

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