The economic origins of the evil eye belief

Journal of Economic Behavior & Organization • Vol/Iss. 110 • Published In • Pages: 119-144 •
By Gershman, Boris

Abstract

The author analyzes 76 societies synchronically, positing that the evil eye belief functions as a useful heuristic and prosocial/cohesive element in weakly-institutionalized societies with significant wealth inequality; in particular, the evil eye belief is found to be more prevalent in agro-pastoral societies where material wealth is vulnerable and plays a dominant role in subsistence economy.

Samples

Sample Used Coded Data Comment
Standard Cross Cultural Sample (SCCS)Other Researchers
Ethnographic Atlas (EA)Other Researchers

Hypotheses (5)

HypothesisSupported
In weakly institutionalized traditional societies in which the evil eye belief is not indigenous, evil eye beliefs will be associated with spatial diffusion via cultural contact.Supported
In weakly institutionalized traditional societies, the evil eye belief will be associated with wealth inequality.Supported
In weakly institutionalized traditional societies, the evil eye belief will be associated with less governmental and political centralization.Supported
In weakly institutionalized traditional societies, the evil eye belief will be associated with religious norms.Partially supported
In weakly institutionalized traditional societies, the evil eye belief will be associated with modes of production.Supported
Documents and Hypotheses Filed By: Christina Carolus