At the very centre of economics lies the decision-making individual. When referring to human behaviour, great emphasis is put on the individual making rational choices, considering the information at hand. However, social norms and other-regarding preferences might be at odds with the rational choice, and differing external factors will most likely influence the decisions made. Studying human behaviour under great stress, combined with an environment where the risks are high, offers interesting new discoveries. This study makes use of maritime incidents in the Mediterranean in order to investigate the differences in survival rate between men, women, and children. During recent years, the inflow of migrants to Europe has increased to unprecedented numbers and during 2015 alone, more than one million migrants arrived to Greece and Italy after travelling on dilapidated and overcrowded vessels across the seas. Accidents are common and the Mediterranean is considered the most dangerous border crossing in the world, with approximately 12 000 deaths during 2014-2016. Using a sample of 37 migrant shipwrecks between 2014 and 2016, women and children are found to have a considerable survival disadvantage compared to men. Results using a linear probability model indicate a 17-percentage-point lower survival rate for women, and an 8-percentage-points survival disadvantage for children, compared to men.
2017
Keyword [en]
Gender, social norms, rationality, maritime incidents, migration, other-regarding-preferences and self-interest, life-and-death
National Category
URN: urn:nbn:se:uu:diva-326427
OAI: oai:DiVA.org:uu-326427
DiVA: diva2:1121134
http://www.diva-portal.org/smash/record.jsf?pid=diva2%3A1121134&dswid=9156
No comments:
Post a Comment