Appendix to Individualism, institutions and patriarchal attitudes

Individualism, institutions and patriarchal attitudes Lewis S. Davis[1] and Claudia Williamson Kramer[2] Abstract This study examines how individualism influences patriarchal gender norms across 93 countries, using data from the Integrated Values Surveys. We hypothesize that individualism, emphasizing personal autonomy and egalitarian values, reduces patriarchal attitudes directly and indirectly through formal institutions. Our findings reveal a robust negative association between individualism and patriarchal attitudes, with a one standard deviation increase in individualism linked to a 0.78 standard deviation decrease in patriarchal attitudes. This association holds across various controls and instrumental variable techniques addressing endogeneity. Mediation analysis shows that institutions, particularly liberal democracy and legal gender parity, mediate 5% to 37% of this association. These results underscore individualism’s role in promoting egalitarian gender norms and suggest that culturally aligned institutional reforms, such as strengthening women’s economic rights or democratic participation, can amplify these effects. Keywords: culture; individualism; institutions; patriarchy; gender norms JEL Codes: D1; J16; J2; O5; Z1 [1] Lewis S. Davis is the Thomas Armstrong Professor of Economics at Union College, Schenectady, NY, USA; [email protected]. [2] Corresponding Author. Probasco Distinguished Chair of Free Enterprise, University of Tennessee at Chattanooga, 615 McCallie Ave, Chattanooga, TN, USA, Email: [email protected]