Eriksson, Lina2015-11-052015-11-052015-10https://hdl.handle.net/10986/22863Social norms affect almost every aspect of people’s lives, and can be an obstacle to or support economic development. This paper outlines what social norms are and how they work, providing examples from everyday life and from development case studies. Sometimes not much can be done about changing undesirable social norms. In those cases, development economists need to be aware of how the existence of those norms can impact the effects of the policies they advocate. But of particular importance to development economists is the ways in which social norms can be changed, at least under some circumstances. Understanding of social norm change is still patchy at best, but the paper outlines the theoretical underpinnings of change, with empirical evidence from various policies aimed at changing social norms. However, some of those policies raise ethical concerns that would require attention.en-USCC BY 3.0 IGOYOUNG WOMENFEMALE GENITAL MUTILATIONSOCIAL INEQUALITYGENITAL MUTILATIONTEENAGERSSPOUSEINTEGRITYHEALTH IMPACTMORAL NORMSSOCIAL ISSUESETHNOGRAPHIC EVIDENCEPROPERTYCIVIL WARHUSBANDSMATERNITY LEAVESOCIETIESPARTICIPATORY PROCESSCOOPERATIONKNOWLEDGEALCOHOLFAMILY MEMBERSGENDER NORMSSOCIAL PRACTICEANTHROPOLOGYLAND TENURESOCIAL LIFEROLE MODELSPHILOSOPHERSSOCIAL NORMSPOPULATIONMACHISMOTELEVISION NETWORKEMPLOYMENT OPPORTUNITIESPEACEDOMESTIC VIOLENCEGENDER RELATIONSUNPLANNED PREGNANCIESPOPULATIONSSOCIAL CHANGEWOMENGENITAL CUTTINGSAFE SEXABUSECIRCUMCISIONCONDOMSWOMANETHNICITYGENDERECONOMIC GROWTHSOCIAL INTERACTIONSSTUDENTSMASCULINITYBOTH SEXESSOCIAL MARKETINGDEVELOPMENT POLICYSOCIAL GROUPADOPTIONLIVING‐STANDARDSRESPONSIBILITYMORALITYFEMININITYDEPENDENCEPOWERCREATIONHUMAN BEHAVIOUREDUCATION OF WOMENKIDSPOLICYPOLICY‐MAKERSSEXUAL VIOLENCEDRUGSEVERYDAY LIFETELEVISIONSEXPOSTERSYOUNG MENHOUSEHOLDSBELIEFSDEVELOPMENT EFFORTSRELIGIONHOUSEHOLD INCOMEPOLICY DISCUSSIONSPENSIONSPROPERTY RIGHTSNORMSPARTNERSPOLICY MAKERSPROGRESSSOCIAL NORMSPREGNANCIESSOCIOBIOLOGYTVINDIVIDUAL MEMBERSSEXUALITYSOCIAL MEANINGSNATIONALSGIRLSSOCIAL INFORMATIONETHICSGOODPUBLIC SUPPORTCARE FOR CHILDRENRADIOPEER PRESSUREMOTHERRELIGIOUS REASONSRESPONSIBILITIESSOCIAL SECURITYHUMAN BEHAVIORHUMAN BEHAVIORPUBLIC SERVICEDISCRIMINATIONCOMMUNICATIONENERGY CONSUMPTIONETHNOGRAPHYFEMALE CHILDRENSPOUSESFEMALE “CIRCUMCISIONPOLICY‐ MAKERSSOAP OPERASRITUALTABOOMARKET ECONOMYSOCIAL INTERACTIONSPOLICY RESEARCH WORKING PAPERHISTORYMARRIED COUPLESRESPECTFEMALE SEXUALITYPUBLIC POLICYHOUSEHOLD WORKPOLITICAL CHANGEALTRUISMCULTURESPRINCIPLESFEMALE GENITAL CUTTINGOWNERSHIP OF LANDMUTILATIONSOCIAL DEVELOPMENTCHILD‐REARINGCONDOMEXOGAMYSOCIOLOGYPOLICIESSURVEYSVIOLENCE AGAINST WOMENMEDIAYOUNG PEOPLESYMBOLSSOCIAL POLICYSOCIETYCHILD CAREFUNERALSMARRIAGECULTURAL DIFFERENCESCONDOM USESUBSTANCE ABUSEPOLICY RESEARCHFEWER PEOPLEFAIRNESSIMPACT ON CHILDRENMODERNIZATIONRURAL COMMUNITIESGENDER EQUALITYPARENTAL LEAVEWARFATHERHOODMANDATESFAMILIESANTHROPOLOGISTGENDER ROLESSOCIAL STATUSDEVELOPING COUNTRIESSOCIAL PSYCHOLOGYSOCIAL PRESSUREFAMILYWorking PaperWorld Bank10.1596/1813-9450-7450