Diffusion of Gender Norms: Evidence from Stalin's Ethnic Deportations

Journal of the European Economic Association, Forthcoming

91 Pages Posted: 11 Jul 2019 Last revised: 17 Apr 2023

See all articles by Antonela Miho

Antonela Miho

Paris School of Economics (PSE)

Alexandra Jarotschkin

World Bank

Ekaterina Zhuravskaya

Paris School of Economics (PSE)

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Date Written: February 21, 2023

Abstract

We study horizontal between-group cultural transmission using Stalin's ethnic deportations as a historical experiment. Over 2 million Soviet citizens, mostly Germans and Chechens, were forcibly relocated from the western to eastern parts of the USSR during WWII solely based on ethnicity. As a result, the native population of the deportation destinations was exogenously exposed to groups with drastically different gender norms and behavior. We combine historical and contemporary data to document that present-day gender equality in labor force participation, business leadership, and fertility as well as pro-gender-equality attitudes are higher among local native population of deportation destinations with a larger presence of Protestant compared to Muslim deportees. The effects are stronger for culturally closer groups and when adopting deportee norms is less costly. The results cannot be explained by the selection, vertical cultural transmission, or deportee impact on the local economy. The evidence strongly suggests that gender norms diffused horizontally from deportees to the local population through imitation and learning.

Keywords: Horizontal cultural transmission, Gender norms, Deportations, Stalin

JEL Classification: P00, Z12, Z13, J15, N44

Suggested Citation

Miho, Antonela and Jarotschkin, Alexandra and Zhuravskaya, Ekaterina, Diffusion of Gender Norms: Evidence from Stalin's Ethnic Deportations (February 21, 2023). Journal of the European Economic Association, Forthcoming, Available at SSRN: https://ssrn.com/abstract=3417682 or http://dx.doi.org/10.2139/ssrn.3417682

Antonela Miho

Paris School of Economics (PSE) ( email )

48 Boulevard Jourdan
Paris, 75014 75014
France

Alexandra Jarotschkin

World Bank ( email )

1818 H Street, NW
Washington, DC 20433
United States
202-473-7214 (Phone)

Ekaterina Zhuravskaya (Contact Author)

Paris School of Economics (PSE) ( email )

48 Boulevard Jourdan
Paris, 75014 75014
France

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