The Gatsby Foundation and the JP Morgan Chase Foundation are supporting the Institute for Employment Research at the University of Warwick to undertake research to understand how parents and carers can be better supported by schools and colleges to feel more informed and confident with the advice they give to their children. Dr John Gough from our Careers team has been involved in the research project on 'The role of parents in providing careers guidance and how they can be better supported.'

You can read the report findings along with the recording of a live webinar explaining more about the project here.

In the popular imagination, a marketplace is somewhere you can expect to be cheated – so much so that the English language has several idioms, from buying a pig in a poke to letting the cat out of the bag, originating in sharp practice by 16^th century livestock traders.

Those giraffes you sold me, they won't mate. They just walk around, eating, and not mating… I want my money back. (Gladiator, 2000)

But what if a market is actually a place where values and ethics are essential to success?

The link between market exposure and civic values has long been debated by economists no less than Adam Smith and Karl Marx. A new working paper by Dr Devesh Rustagi attempts to settle the argument with results from experimental work in rural Ethiopia.

Market Exposure, Civil Values and Rules presents results from Dr Rustagi’s work with the Arsi Oromo People, who live in the Bale Mountains in southern Ethiopia.

The Arsi mainly trade in livestock. Livestock exchange is prone to market failure from asymmetric information – the vendor will know much more about the animal’s health than the buyer. An unethical merchant might conceal an animal’s illness in order to conclude a sale.

Dr Rustagi explains: “The Arsi homeland is an excellent place to study the influence of markets as they developed in an accidental way from short-lived military camps that Emperor Menelik established after defeating the Arsi - but then died shortly after. This allows me to study the influence of the market in isolation from other factors, such as urbanisation or the development of state and education.

“If I sold a sick cow to someone in my immediate social circle and it died, my personal reputation would be damaged. There is an incentive to me to be honest to people that I know, but no incentive to be honest outside my immediate circle.

“In a market setting, I am likely to sell to people I do not know in interactions that are short-lived. Do I cheat them, or do we find ways of co-operating so that the market trades good-quality livestock at fair prices?”

Dr Rustagi’s study has three main elements.

Members of the Arsi community from settlements near to, and far from, the market locations took part in a one-shot, anonymous public goods game to measure their propensity for conditional co-operation, or simply put, reciprocity - a proxy for civic values. This was followed up with data from two aspects of a forest management project which Arsi people are involved in. Members of the community give a certain number of hours to monitor their section of forest and prevent outsiders from gaining access. This is based on trust – no-one monitors the monitors – so a higher number of monitoring hours can stand as a proxy for higher civic values. The natural forest regeneration requires each group to put constraints on opportunistic behaviour by introducing and enforcing rules against rampant browsing by livestock at key points of the year when trees are young.

The study found that the greater distance the community lived from the market, the weaker their reciprocity in the game was; the fewer hours they gave to forest monitoring, and the less likely they were to have created rules about grazing. As an example, one hour increase in market distance led to a drop in reciprocity, time spent monitoring and rule formation by over 20 percentage points.

But why does market exposure lead to these findings?

To unpack the mechanisms Dr Rustagi conducted vignettes about two hypothetical cattle sales to add important detail about how markets function in the absence of a strong state.

He found that in groups far from markets, people do not need to trust strangers, as they sell and buy cattle with people from their own community – where, driven by reputational concerns, people behave honestly. The outlook people develop from these environments is insular – co-operate with known people but cheat otherwise.

But, in markets where people trade cattle with unknown people, these options are not available and there is no external authority to appeal to if a trader is dishonest. The Arsi Oromi have developed their own system of checks and sanctions. When meeting at the market, the Oromo people announce their clan membership. This enables a form of collective punishment to be applied should a trader cheat a customer and is a powerful incentive for the community to police itself. This allows people who regularly buy and sell in markets to learn to trust strangers and extend cooperation beyond their in-group to outsiders.

Dr Rustagi comments: “The empirical data showed that distance from the market shaped cultural norms, while the vignette studies revealed some of the mechanisms behind this effect.

“My evidence on the role of markets in shaping civic values and rules is an important contribution to our understanding of how economic organisation influences social change.”

• Market Exposure, Civic Values and Rules. Dr Devesh Rustagi. June 2024. Warwick Economics Research Paper No 1501Link opens in a new window 

The Department for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy (BEIS) has launched the first government survey of the UK-wide research and innovation workforce.

We ask anyone in the diverse occupations that are vital to innovation and research in the UK to complete it to offer better data for policy decisions that impact this whole workforce.

Find out more about the short survey and complete it online here.

A research team led by Professor Celine Tan from Warwick Law School has secured an award from the British Academy ODA Challenge-Oriented Research Grants programme 2024 to investigate the financing of just energy transitions in developing countries.

PAIS has secured a number of prizes from the British International Studies Association (BISA). At a ceremony held at the BISA conference in Birmingham on 6th July, the following prizes were awarded:

Early Career Excellence in Teaching International Studies Prize – Dr Akinyemi Oyawale

New Voices in Cultural Relations Prize (awarded by BISA and the British Council for best Masters dissertation in International Studies) – Louise Sherry, MA in International Relations 2022/3

Equality Diversity and Inclusion Prize – Prof. Vicki Squire

L.H.M. Ling Outstanding First Book Prize– honourable mention to Seb Rumsby former PhD student/postdoctoral fellow in PAIS

The British Academy is inviting proposals from early career researchers in the humanities and social sciences wishing to pursue an independent research project, towards the completion of a significant piece of publishable research.

Applicants must be researchers from the humanities and social sciences and be based at an eligible university or research organisation for the duration of the Fellowship.

Applicants must be of Early Career Status, meaning they must apply within three years from the date of their successful viva voce examination. For this round of competition, applicants are expected to have completed their viva voce between 1 April 2022 and 1 April 2025.

For more information and how to apply click hereLink opens in a new window

Leverhulme Early Career Fellowships aim to provide career development opportunities for those who are at a relatively early stage of their academic careers, but who have a proven record of research. The expectation is that Fellows should undertake a significant piece of publishable work during their tenure, and that the Fellowships should lead to a more permanent academic position, either within the same or another institution. Approximately 145 Fellowships will be available in 2024. Fellowships can be held at universities or at other institutions of higher education in the UK. Full details of the scheme, funding and eligibility are available on the Leverhulme websiteLink opens in a new window.

The closing date for applications to Leverhulme is 22 February 2024 at 4pm, with decisions released in May.

Sociology is inviting applications from suitably qualified candidates and up to three applicants will be selected for departmental support through a competitive selection process.

The procedure is as follows:

1. Expressions of interest in the scheme should be sent by email to Amy Clarke at Amy.Clarke@warwick.ac.uk by 12noon on Monday 4th December. 
2. All expressions of interest should include the following materials:

1. An outline project proposal (2 pages maximum)
2. An academic CV
3. An email or letter confirming support for your application from your chosen mentor in Sociology (who must be a permanent member of staff).

• All submissions received by the deadline and meeting these requirements will be reviewed by the Department Selection Panel.
• The criteria for selection are:

• Research track-record of nominee
• Quality of proposed research to be conducted while at Warwick
• Fit with the mentor and the strength of their support
• Fit with broader aims of the Leverhulme competition.

5. Decisions will be reported back to applicants by 12 January 2024.

6. Successful applicants will receive feedback and administrative support from the Department and University prior to the Leverhulme deadline on 23 February 2024.

Queries about the scheme or process should be sent to Professor Goldie Osuri (Director of Research & Impact) at G.Osuri@warwick.ac.uk

Useful Links:

Scheme overviewLink opens in a new windowLink opens in a new window

Key Dates:

Deadline for Expressions of Interest: 12noon on Monday 04th December 2023

Leverhulme Deadline: 4pm on 22 February 2024