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Max Posch

@maxposch.bsky.social
1.1K followers 610 following 28 posts

Assistant professor University of Exeter | Harvard affiliate | working on the social and cultural foundations of economic development | FirstGen

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Max Posch @maxposch.bsky.social · 17/07/2025
WHY❓Mechanisms: 1️⃣ A direct channel✅ Adaptation is concentrated in individuals more exposed to commerce and whose livelihood depends on it ⏩ More frequent and beneficial exchanges with strangers and increased economic interdependence is a key driver 14/17
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Max Posch @maxposch.bsky.social · 17/07/2025
HOW❓ We track domestic migrants and find: ❌ Selective sorting ✅ Adaptation: People moving to more market-integrated areas adapted quickly ⬆️They become more universalistic ⬆️Higher cooperation in the labor force ⬆️More cooperation with non-kin at home 12/17
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Max Posch @maxposch.bsky.social · 17/07/2025
🧩 Then we ask: Did greater market access lead to more generalized cooperative culture and behavior? ✅ YES ‼️ 1️⃣ strengthened generalized cooperative cultural traits 2️⃣ increased impersonal cooperation 3️⃣ reduced kin-based cooperation 11/17
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Max Posch @maxposch.bsky.social · 17/07/2025
Our cultural and behavioral measures are deeply connected. Generalized cooperative culture is associated with: ⬆️ More impersonal cooperative behavior ⬇️ Less kin-based cooperation 10/17
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Max Posch @maxposch.bsky.social · 17/07/2025
🧠 We measure generalized cooperative culture focusing on universalism, tolerance, and generalized trust—traits supporting cooperation with strangers, using indicators from Raz (2025) and a novel NLP measure of local historical newspapers 8/17
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Max Posch @maxposch.bsky.social · 17/07/2025
We measure market integration using a county-level “Market Access” following Donaldson & Hornbeck (2016) 📈 Counties saw big, uneven increases in market access over time, driven by the expansion of the railroad network and by population growth 🚂🛤️ 7/17
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Max Posch @maxposch.bsky.social · 17/07/2025
🌐Producers shifted from local subsistence to market-oriented production 🗺️ Long-distance trade rapidly expanded 🛒 Household consumption became increasingly reliant on distant sellers 6/17
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Max Posch @maxposch.bsky.social · 17/07/2025
Critics like Marx and Polanyi argued that markets erode morality, commodify social relationships, and foster alienation and exploitation 4/17
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Max Posch @maxposch.bsky.social · 17/07/2025
Philosophers and social scientists have debated the moral and social implications of markets for centuries, but it remains contested and politicized. Enlightenment thinkers such as Montesquieu and Smith argued that commerce softens manners and reduces prejudice 3/17
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Max Posch @maxposch.bsky.social · 17/07/2025
📢 In our 🆕working paper (with @raztzachi.bsky.social ), we show that as markets expanded, Americans became more universalistic, tolerant, trusting, and cooperative 🔗https://dropbox.com/scl/fi/xydg1vid6a8pw8zmvw8yc/Posch_Raz_Markets.pdf?rlkey=4b4qwrdkdv47ri5721mfwy92v&e=1&dl=0 2/17
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