The Power of Tolerance vs. Unselfishness as a Cultural Determinant of Cooperation

Abstract

Cooperation in collective action problems and resource dilemmas is often assumed to depend on the values of the individuals involved, such as their degree of unselfishness and tolerance. Societal differences in cooperation and cooperative norms may therefore result from cultural variation in emphasis on these personal values. Here we draw on several cross-national datasets to examine whether society-level emphasis on unselfishness and tolerance and respect for other people predict how societies vary in cooperation [in a continuous prisoner’s dilemma (PD)] and in norms governing cooperation [in a common pool resource dilemma (CPR)]. The results suggest that high levels of cooperation and cooperative norms are promoted specifically by a cultural emphasis on tolerance.

How Does Chinese Outward Foreign Direct Investment Respond to Host Country Cultural Tolerance and Trust?

“…Tolerance is closely related to trade and investment in economic globalization and connected to cooperation ( Berggren and Nilsson, 2015 ). It is assumed that tolerant cultures are more likely to promote high-level cooperative relationships between two countries, causing less conflict, and partners are more willing to form deeper collaborative relationships and have a higher degree of trust ( Eriksson et al, 2021 ). Cooperation, tolerance, and trust are essential for practical OFDI requirements.…”

Institutions as predictors of government discrimination

“…This also applies to public decision‐makers, as well as to citizens' voting behavior. There is indeed an emerging empirical literature documenting effects of this kind: for example, the rule of law and institutions enabling globalization have been shown to relate to social trust (Berggren & Bjørnskov, 2023; Berggren & Jordahl, 2006; Cassar et al, 2014; Martinangeli et al, 2023), and institutions, such as those encompassed under the rubric of economic freedom and the related phenomenon of globalization, are positively related to various indicators of tolerance (Berggren et al, 2019; Berggren & Nilsson, 2013, 2014, 2015, 2021; Eriksson et al, 2021). Enforcement institutions have been found to have cultural spillovers in a prosocial direction (Engl et al, 2021), and greater levels of prosociality follow from a higher degree of market integration and higher payoffs to cooperation (Henrich et al, 2005).…”