{"id":181,"date":"2026-05-04T10:29:58","date_gmt":"2026-05-04T14:29:58","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/people.bsu.edu\/econbriefs\/?p=181"},"modified":"2026-05-04T10:29:58","modified_gmt":"2026-05-04T14:29:58","slug":"why-empathy-strengthens-economies-by-dr-cecil-bohanon-and-dr-john-horowitz","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/people.bsu.edu\/econbriefs\/2026\/05\/04\/why-empathy-strengthens-economies-by-dr-cecil-bohanon-and-dr-john-horowitz\/","title":{"rendered":"Why Empathy Strengthens Economies\u2013 by Dr. Cecil Bohanon and Dr. John Horowitz"},"content":{"rendered":"<p><span data-contrast=\"auto\">Adam Smith, the father of modern economics,\u00a0observed\u00a0that humans\u00a0possess\u00a0&#8220;<\/span><a href=\"https:\/\/knarf.english.upenn.edu\/Smith\/tms111.html\"><span data-contrast=\"none\">principles in their nature, which interest them in the fortune of others.&#8221;<\/span><\/a><span data-contrast=\"auto\">\u00a0Smith\u2019s emphasis on sympathy, what we now call empathy, reveals the foundation of social capital: our capacity to internalize others&#8217; well-being and act in\u00a0ways that\u00a0benefit\u00a0the group.\u00a0<\/span><span data-ccp-props=\"{}\">\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span data-contrast=\"auto\">While\u00a0there is no\u00a0single\u00a0universally accepted definition of social capital, economist Lindon Robison defines it\u00a0as &#8220;<\/span><a href=\"https:\/\/www.scirp.org\/journal\/paperinformation?paperid=124741#ref52\"><span data-contrast=\"none\">the empathy one person or group has for another person or group.&#8221; This complements the World Bank&#8217;s definition: &#8220;the institutions, relationships, and norms that shape the quality and quantity of a society&#8217;s social interactions.&#8221;<\/span><\/a><span data-contrast=\"auto\">\u00a0The essence of social capital is the strength and quality of our relationships.\u00a0<\/span><span data-ccp-props=\"{}\">\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span data-contrast=\"auto\">The benefits of social capital include increased trust and cooperation,\u00a0reducing\u00a0the need for\u00a0constant\u00a0oversight\u00a0or\u00a0costly\u00a0enforcement.\u00a0People who are part of social capital networks\u00a0often\u00a0give each other preferential\u00a0treatment, such as lower prices or\u00a0special access\u00a0to resources. They tend to\u00a0work together\u00a0to produce\u00a0public goods, like clean parks and safe neighborhoods, and discourage behaviors that impose costs on others. People in social capital networks tend to feel a greater sense of belonging, have more friendships, and report higher levels of happiness. Moreover, these networks often\u00a0reinforce\u00a0societal stability by supporting institutions and norms beyond their immediate networks.\u00a0<\/span><span data-ccp-props=\"{}\">\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span data-contrast=\"auto\">Robison warns\u00a0about\u00a0the adverse effects of\u00a0negative\u00a0social capital. Negative social capital\u00a0arises\u00a0when people form networks based on shared antipathy towards\u00a0outside\u00a0persons, groups, or\u00a0objects.\u00a0Negative social capital\u00a0often\u00a0emerges\u00a0in contexts when people feel excluded, perceive injustice, institutions\u00a0are weak, society\u00a0is polarized,\u00a0or\u00a0when individuals fear and distrust one another.\u00a0Examples include partisan political networks that\u00a0demonize\u00a0opponents, communities that blame outsiders for local problems,\u00a0sports fans who belittle their opponents, and toxic workplaces where\u00a0people mistrust and vilify each other.\u00a0<\/span><span data-ccp-props=\"{}\">\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span data-contrast=\"auto\">Negative\u00a0social capital is\u00a0easier\u00a0to create and\u00a0maintain\u00a0but produces inferior outcomes.\u00a0While antipathy and enmity\u00a0can unite people against perceived threats, they also deepen the very conflicts that people are\u00a0seeking\u00a0to resolve. For example, in the novel\u00a0Lord of the Flies, a group of stranded\u00a0schoolboys\u00a0initially\u00a0attempt\u00a0self-governance, but fearing\u00a0a mythical beast,\u00a0they\u00a0unite under Jack, a leader who promises protection. The\u00a0fear-based unity quickly devolves into savagery, turning the boys against dissenters and leading to violence and societal collapse.\u00a0<\/span><span data-ccp-props=\"{}\">\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span data-contrast=\"auto\">Adam Smith understood that markets\u00a0and societies\u00a0function more effectively when\u00a0positive social capital is\u00a0more prevalent\u00a0than negative social capital.\u00a0<\/span><span data-ccp-props=\"{}\">\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>Adam Smith, the father of modern economics,\u00a0observed\u00a0that humans\u00a0possess\u00a0&#8220;principles in their nature, which interest them in the fortune of others.&#8221;\u00a0Smith\u2019s emphasis on sympathy, what we now call empathy, reveals the foundation of social capital: our capacity to internalize others&#8217; well-being and act in\u00a0ways that\u00a0benefit\u00a0the group.\u00a0\u00a0 While\u00a0there is no\u00a0single\u00a0universally accepted definition of social capital, economist Lindon Robison [&hellip;]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":112,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[1639],"tags":[158,974,1371,1501,1642,1644,813,1643,1640,1641],"class_list":["post-181","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-social","tag-adam-smith","tag-cooperation","tag-economic-behavior","tag-empathy","tag-institutions","tag-negative-social-capital","tag-polarization","tag-positive-externalities","tag-social-capital","tag-trust"],"yoast_head":"<!-- This site is optimized with the Yoast SEO plugin v27.7 - https:\/\/yoast.com\/product\/yoast-seo-wordpress\/ -->\n<title>Why Empathy Strengthens Economies\u2013 by Dr. Cecil Bohanon and Dr. John Horowitz - Econ Briefs<\/title>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/people.bsu.edu\/econbriefs\/2026\/05\/04\/why-empathy-strengthens-economies-by-dr-cecil-bohanon-and-dr-john-horowitz\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"Why Empathy Strengthens Economies\u2013 by Dr. Cecil Bohanon and Dr. John Horowitz - Econ Briefs\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:description\" content=\"Adam Smith, the father of modern economics,\u00a0observed\u00a0that humans\u00a0possess\u00a0&#8220;principles in their nature, which interest them in the fortune of others.&#8221;\u00a0Smith\u2019s emphasis on sympathy, what we now call empathy, reveals the foundation of social capital: our capacity to internalize others&#8217; well-being and act in\u00a0ways that\u00a0benefit\u00a0the group.\u00a0\u00a0 While\u00a0there is no\u00a0single\u00a0universally accepted definition of social capital, economist Lindon Robison [&hellip;]\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:url\" content=\"https:\/\/people.bsu.edu\/econbriefs\/2026\/05\/04\/why-empathy-strengthens-economies-by-dr-cecil-bohanon-and-dr-john-horowitz\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:site_name\" content=\"Econ Briefs\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:published_time\" content=\"2026-05-04T14:29:58+00:00\" \/>\n<meta name=\"author\" content=\"christianhartselle\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:card\" content=\"summary_large_image\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:label1\" content=\"Written by\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data1\" content=\"christianhartselle\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:label2\" content=\"Est. reading time\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data2\" content=\"2 minutes\" \/>\n<script type=\"application\/ld+json\" class=\"yoast-schema-graph\">{\"@context\":\"https:\\\/\\\/schema.org\",\"@graph\":[{\"@type\":\"Article\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/people.bsu.edu\\\/econbriefs\\\/2026\\\/05\\\/04\\\/why-empathy-strengthens-economies-by-dr-cecil-bohanon-and-dr-john-horowitz\\\/#article\",\"isPartOf\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/people.bsu.edu\\\/econbriefs\\\/2026\\\/05\\\/04\\\/why-empathy-strengthens-economies-by-dr-cecil-bohanon-and-dr-john-horowitz\\\/\"},\"author\":{\"name\":\"christianhartselle\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/people.bsu.edu\\\/econbriefs\\\/#\\\/schema\\\/person\\\/53f4e0b981fd42f34cbb306b9ad62622\"},\"headline\":\"Why Empathy Strengthens Economies\u2013 by Dr. Cecil Bohanon and Dr. John Horowitz\",\"datePublished\":\"2026-05-04T14:29:58+00:00\",\"mainEntityOfPage\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/people.bsu.edu\\\/econbriefs\\\/2026\\\/05\\\/04\\\/why-empathy-strengthens-economies-by-dr-cecil-bohanon-and-dr-john-horowitz\\\/\"},\"wordCount\":426,\"commentCount\":0,\"keywords\":[\"Adam Smith\",\"cooperation\",\"economic behavior\",\"empathy\",\"institutions\",\"negative social capital\",\"polarization\",\"positive externalities\",\"social capital\",\"trust\"],\"articleSection\":[\"Social\"],\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"potentialAction\":[{\"@type\":\"CommentAction\",\"name\":\"Comment\",\"target\":[\"https:\\\/\\\/people.bsu.edu\\\/econbriefs\\\/2026\\\/05\\\/04\\\/why-empathy-strengthens-economies-by-dr-cecil-bohanon-and-dr-john-horowitz\\\/#respond\"]}]},{\"@type\":\"WebPage\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/people.bsu.edu\\\/econbriefs\\\/2026\\\/05\\\/04\\\/why-empathy-strengthens-economies-by-dr-cecil-bohanon-and-dr-john-horowitz\\\/\",\"url\":\"https:\\\/\\\/people.bsu.edu\\\/econbriefs\\\/2026\\\/05\\\/04\\\/why-empathy-strengthens-economies-by-dr-cecil-bohanon-and-dr-john-horowitz\\\/\",\"name\":\"Why Empathy Strengthens Economies\u2013 by Dr. Cecil Bohanon and Dr. John Horowitz - Econ Briefs\",\"isPartOf\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/people.bsu.edu\\\/econbriefs\\\/#website\"},\"datePublished\":\"2026-05-04T14:29:58+00:00\",\"author\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/people.bsu.edu\\\/econbriefs\\\/#\\\/schema\\\/person\\\/53f4e0b981fd42f34cbb306b9ad62622\"},\"breadcrumb\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/people.bsu.edu\\\/econbriefs\\\/2026\\\/05\\\/04\\\/why-empathy-strengthens-economies-by-dr-cecil-bohanon-and-dr-john-horowitz\\\/#breadcrumb\"},\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"potentialAction\":[{\"@type\":\"ReadAction\",\"target\":[\"https:\\\/\\\/people.bsu.edu\\\/econbriefs\\\/2026\\\/05\\\/04\\\/why-empathy-strengthens-economies-by-dr-cecil-bohanon-and-dr-john-horowitz\\\/\"]}]},{\"@type\":\"BreadcrumbList\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/people.bsu.edu\\\/econbriefs\\\/2026\\\/05\\\/04\\\/why-empathy-strengthens-economies-by-dr-cecil-bohanon-and-dr-john-horowitz\\\/#breadcrumb\",\"itemListElement\":[{\"@type\":\"ListItem\",\"position\":1,\"name\":\"Home\",\"item\":\"https:\\\/\\\/people.bsu.edu\\\/econbriefs\\\/\"},{\"@type\":\"ListItem\",\"position\":2,\"name\":\"Why Empathy Strengthens Economies\u2013 by Dr. Cecil Bohanon and Dr. John Horowitz\"}]},{\"@type\":\"WebSite\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/people.bsu.edu\\\/econbriefs\\\/#website\",\"url\":\"https:\\\/\\\/people.bsu.edu\\\/econbriefs\\\/\",\"name\":\"Econ Briefs\",\"description\":\"\",\"potentialAction\":[{\"@type\":\"SearchAction\",\"target\":{\"@type\":\"EntryPoint\",\"urlTemplate\":\"https:\\\/\\\/people.bsu.edu\\\/econbriefs\\\/?s={search_term_string}\"},\"query-input\":{\"@type\":\"PropertyValueSpecification\",\"valueRequired\":true,\"valueName\":\"search_term_string\"}}],\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\"},{\"@type\":\"Person\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/people.bsu.edu\\\/econbriefs\\\/#\\\/schema\\\/person\\\/53f4e0b981fd42f34cbb306b9ad62622\",\"name\":\"christianhartselle\",\"image\":{\"@type\":\"ImageObject\",\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/secure.gravatar.com\\\/avatar\\\/99dffdd2c9bd490eefa22ed0b6d8d8a277b0368e88948df516427d91d6bf8ea5?s=96&d=mm&r=g\",\"url\":\"https:\\\/\\\/secure.gravatar.com\\\/avatar\\\/99dffdd2c9bd490eefa22ed0b6d8d8a277b0368e88948df516427d91d6bf8ea5?s=96&d=mm&r=g\",\"contentUrl\":\"https:\\\/\\\/secure.gravatar.com\\\/avatar\\\/99dffdd2c9bd490eefa22ed0b6d8d8a277b0368e88948df516427d91d6bf8ea5?s=96&d=mm&r=g\",\"caption\":\"christianhartselle\"},\"url\":\"https:\\\/\\\/people.bsu.edu\\\/econbriefs\\\/author\\\/christianhartselle\\\/\"}]}<\/script>\n<!-- \/ Yoast SEO plugin. -->","yoast_head_json":{"title":"Why Empathy Strengthens Economies\u2013 by Dr. Cecil Bohanon and Dr. John Horowitz - Econ Briefs","robots":{"index":"index","follow":"follow","max-snippet":"max-snippet:-1","max-image-preview":"max-image-preview:large","max-video-preview":"max-video-preview:-1"},"canonical":"https:\/\/people.bsu.edu\/econbriefs\/2026\/05\/04\/why-empathy-strengthens-economies-by-dr-cecil-bohanon-and-dr-john-horowitz\/","og_locale":"en_US","og_type":"article","og_title":"Why Empathy Strengthens Economies\u2013 by Dr. Cecil Bohanon and Dr. John Horowitz - Econ Briefs","og_description":"Adam Smith, the father of modern economics,\u00a0observed\u00a0that humans\u00a0possess\u00a0&#8220;principles in their nature, which interest them in the fortune of others.&#8221;\u00a0Smith\u2019s emphasis on sympathy, what we now call empathy, reveals the foundation of social capital: our capacity to internalize others&#8217; well-being and act in\u00a0ways that\u00a0benefit\u00a0the group.\u00a0\u00a0 While\u00a0there is no\u00a0single\u00a0universally accepted definition of social capital, economist Lindon Robison [&hellip;]","og_url":"https:\/\/people.bsu.edu\/econbriefs\/2026\/05\/04\/why-empathy-strengthens-economies-by-dr-cecil-bohanon-and-dr-john-horowitz\/","og_site_name":"Econ Briefs","article_published_time":"2026-05-04T14:29:58+00:00","author":"christianhartselle","twitter_card":"summary_large_image","twitter_misc":{"Written by":"christianhartselle","Est. reading time":"2 minutes"},"schema":{"@context":"https:\/\/schema.org","@graph":[{"@type":"Article","@id":"https:\/\/people.bsu.edu\/econbriefs\/2026\/05\/04\/why-empathy-strengthens-economies-by-dr-cecil-bohanon-and-dr-john-horowitz\/#article","isPartOf":{"@id":"https:\/\/people.bsu.edu\/econbriefs\/2026\/05\/04\/why-empathy-strengthens-economies-by-dr-cecil-bohanon-and-dr-john-horowitz\/"},"author":{"name":"christianhartselle","@id":"https:\/\/people.bsu.edu\/econbriefs\/#\/schema\/person\/53f4e0b981fd42f34cbb306b9ad62622"},"headline":"Why Empathy Strengthens Economies\u2013 by Dr. Cecil Bohanon and Dr. John Horowitz","datePublished":"2026-05-04T14:29:58+00:00","mainEntityOfPage":{"@id":"https:\/\/people.bsu.edu\/econbriefs\/2026\/05\/04\/why-empathy-strengthens-economies-by-dr-cecil-bohanon-and-dr-john-horowitz\/"},"wordCount":426,"commentCount":0,"keywords":["Adam Smith","cooperation","economic behavior","empathy","institutions","negative social capital","polarization","positive externalities","social capital","trust"],"articleSection":["Social"],"inLanguage":"en-US","potentialAction":[{"@type":"CommentAction","name":"Comment","target":["https:\/\/people.bsu.edu\/econbriefs\/2026\/05\/04\/why-empathy-strengthens-economies-by-dr-cecil-bohanon-and-dr-john-horowitz\/#respond"]}]},{"@type":"WebPage","@id":"https:\/\/people.bsu.edu\/econbriefs\/2026\/05\/04\/why-empathy-strengthens-economies-by-dr-cecil-bohanon-and-dr-john-horowitz\/","url":"https:\/\/people.bsu.edu\/econbriefs\/2026\/05\/04\/why-empathy-strengthens-economies-by-dr-cecil-bohanon-and-dr-john-horowitz\/","name":"Why Empathy Strengthens Economies\u2013 by Dr. Cecil Bohanon and Dr. John Horowitz - Econ Briefs","isPartOf":{"@id":"https:\/\/people.bsu.edu\/econbriefs\/#website"},"datePublished":"2026-05-04T14:29:58+00:00","author":{"@id":"https:\/\/people.bsu.edu\/econbriefs\/#\/schema\/person\/53f4e0b981fd42f34cbb306b9ad62622"},"breadcrumb":{"@id":"https:\/\/people.bsu.edu\/econbriefs\/2026\/05\/04\/why-empathy-strengthens-economies-by-dr-cecil-bohanon-and-dr-john-horowitz\/#breadcrumb"},"inLanguage":"en-US","potentialAction":[{"@type":"ReadAction","target":["https:\/\/people.bsu.edu\/econbriefs\/2026\/05\/04\/why-empathy-strengthens-economies-by-dr-cecil-bohanon-and-dr-john-horowitz\/"]}]},{"@type":"BreadcrumbList","@id":"https:\/\/people.bsu.edu\/econbriefs\/2026\/05\/04\/why-empathy-strengthens-economies-by-dr-cecil-bohanon-and-dr-john-horowitz\/#breadcrumb","itemListElement":[{"@type":"ListItem","position":1,"name":"Home","item":"https:\/\/people.bsu.edu\/econbriefs\/"},{"@type":"ListItem","position":2,"name":"Why Empathy Strengthens Economies\u2013 by Dr. Cecil Bohanon and Dr. John Horowitz"}]},{"@type":"WebSite","@id":"https:\/\/people.bsu.edu\/econbriefs\/#website","url":"https:\/\/people.bsu.edu\/econbriefs\/","name":"Econ Briefs","description":"","potentialAction":[{"@type":"SearchAction","target":{"@type":"EntryPoint","urlTemplate":"https:\/\/people.bsu.edu\/econbriefs\/?s={search_term_string}"},"query-input":{"@type":"PropertyValueSpecification","valueRequired":true,"valueName":"search_term_string"}}],"inLanguage":"en-US"},{"@type":"Person","@id":"https:\/\/people.bsu.edu\/econbriefs\/#\/schema\/person\/53f4e0b981fd42f34cbb306b9ad62622","name":"christianhartselle","image":{"@type":"ImageObject","inLanguage":"en-US","@id":"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/99dffdd2c9bd490eefa22ed0b6d8d8a277b0368e88948df516427d91d6bf8ea5?s=96&d=mm&r=g","url":"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/99dffdd2c9bd490eefa22ed0b6d8d8a277b0368e88948df516427d91d6bf8ea5?s=96&d=mm&r=g","contentUrl":"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/99dffdd2c9bd490eefa22ed0b6d8d8a277b0368e88948df516427d91d6bf8ea5?s=96&d=mm&r=g","caption":"christianhartselle"},"url":"https:\/\/people.bsu.edu\/econbriefs\/author\/christianhartselle\/"}]}},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/people.bsu.edu\/econbriefs\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/181","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/people.bsu.edu\/econbriefs\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/people.bsu.edu\/econbriefs\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/people.bsu.edu\/econbriefs\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/112"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/people.bsu.edu\/econbriefs\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=181"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/people.bsu.edu\/econbriefs\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/181\/revisions"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/people.bsu.edu\/econbriefs\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=181"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/people.bsu.edu\/econbriefs\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=181"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/people.bsu.edu\/econbriefs\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=181"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}