The New Republic

I read the article a few days ago and it is very interesting. I am not sure I am convinced. I think there needs to be more work done on this, but it just may be the case. I eagerly look forward to watching the video. And thank you for providing the link to this article. I was going to use the search function to try to find it because I want to send it to a prominent economist who I am in frequent contact with by email, to see what he thinks of it.

- liberalref

June 16, 2011 at 1:05pm

Thank you Jamie Holmes and Richard Just for the excellent video. I recall some of my thinking now after I read the article. Without disputing the results of the research, I wonder how these experiments are woven into the grid of human behavior on the large scales. Human actions are often hugely overdetermined, so it can be very difficult to tease out causal tributaries. I recall reading the results of showing violent images to young people. They seem to be more aggressive after watching such videos. This social science has often been used to attempt to demonstrate a straight line from exposure to violent imagery leading to violent behavior and elevated crime rates. The problem with this line of thinking is that as we have gotten much more violent movies and videos in the last generation, violent crime has plummeted. Jamie, you seem to be offering a structural explanation for a continuing cycles of poverty based upon stress. My question to you therefore would be, do you differentiate between individuals? Some people can handle stress quite well, and even seem to thrive on it, while others are unhanded by it. And in some times and some places, poverty reduction seems to clip right along, while in other times and places, it crawls or is totally stagnant. Obviously, how well an economy is doing is a major factor, but if the stress explanation cuts deep, even if an economy is humming along, then this dynamic seems like it could put somewhat of a drag on GDP growth and retard poverty reduction. Just a few thoughts on your fine article and interview.

- liberalref

June 16, 2011 at 3:43pm