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SUMMARY:Doux Commerce: Markets\, Culture\, and Cooperation in 1850-1920 U.
 S. - Max Posch (University of Exeter)
DTSTART;VALUE=DATE-TIME:20260119T133000Z
DTEND;VALUE=DATE-TIME:20260119T144500Z
UID:https://talks.ox.ac.uk/talks/id/f238264b-29ae-4710-86b3-a2ae3a7b309d/
DESCRIPTION:We study how rising market integration shaped cooperative cult
 ure and behavior in the United States between 1850 and 1920. This period m
 arked a major episode of domestic market integration\, when rapid railroad
  expansion and mass migration created an unprecedented\, highly integrated
  national economy. We combine county-level market access with full-count c
 ensuses\, newspapers\, election returns\, tax records\, and patent data to
  construct measures of universalism\, tolerance\, and generalized trust—
 cultural traits that support cooperation with strangers—as well as indic
 ators of cooperative behavior and the prevalence of impersonal\, mutually 
 beneficial interactions. We find that increased market access fostered imp
 ersonal cooperative cultural traits\, increased impersonal cooperation\, a
 nd reduced kin-based support. Using linked census records to track domesti
 c migrants\, we find no systematic evidence of selection: counties gaining
  market access did not attract migrants with stronger premigration univers
 alism or related characteristics. Instead\, migrants who moved to these co
 unties adapted rapidly\, becoming more universalistic and increasingly eng
 aged in impersonal interactions. Adaptation was concentrated among individ
 uals working in commerce-intensive industries and was associated with impr
 oved economic outcomes. Our analysis of mechanisms suggests that exposure 
 to impersonal\, mutually beneficial exchange was central to how market int
 egration reshaped cooperative culture and broadened the scope of cooperati
 on. These findings help reconcile competing views on markets' social conse
 quences: market integration fostered impersonal cooperation while eroding 
 kin-based support.\nSpeakers:\nMax Posch (University of Exeter)
LOCATION:Manor Road Building (Skills Lab)\, Manor Road OX1 3UQ
TZID:Europe/London
URL:https://talks.ox.ac.uk/talks/id/f238264b-29ae-4710-86b3-a2ae3a7b309d/
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DESCRIPTION:Talk:Doux Commerce: Markets\, Culture\, and Cooperation in 185
 0-1920 U.S. - Max Posch (University of Exeter)
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