In a research seminar at the KDI School of Public Policy and Management (KDI School), Professor Yeonha Jung (Sungkyunkwan University) presented new evidence linking changes in labour organisation to long-term cultural transformation, with findings suggesting that shifts in agricultural labour intensity can shape the degree of individualism within societies across generations.The seminar, titled “Agrarian Origins of Individualism and Collectivism,” examined how historical economic structures continue to influence modern social behaviour.

Drawing on detailed county-level data from the United States, Jung’s study centres on the early 20th-century boll weevil shock, a pest infestation that devastated cotton farming across the American South and forced a transition away from highly labour-intensive agricultural practices. While the economic consequences of the shock have been widely studied, Professor Jung’s research focuses on its deeper social effects, arguing that the reorganisation of labour fundamentally altered patterns of interaction, cooperation, and ultimately cultural norms. The findings show that regions exposed to the shock experienced a measurable increase in individualistic behaviour, captured through naming patterns and supported by contemporary indicators such as digital language use.

At the core of the research is the idea that culture is not an abstract or fixed concept but is closely tied to everyday economic activity. As Professor Jung explained, “Culture in this context refers to informal institutions that influence our decisions.” He noted that the relationship between culture and economic activity is not one-directional, adding that “culture could determine crop specialisation patterns,” thereby suggesting a feedback loop in which economic structures shape culture while culture, in turn, influences economic choices.

The study carefully unpacks the concept of labour intensity, moving beyond a simple measure of hours worked to examine the structure of production itself. Labour intensity is decomposed into the number of operations required per acre, the number of workers involved in each operation, and the number of hours worked per individual. This framework reveals that production systems characterised by high complexity and sustained effort, such as cotton farming, which requires multiple interdependent stages of planting, maintenance, and harvesting, tend to foster strong interdependence among workers. Such environments encourage repeated interaction, coordination, and the development of shared norms, all of which reinforce more collectivist forms of behaviour.

Historical evidence presented during the seminar illustrates this transformation more clearly. Data from a 1899 U.S. agricultural report shows that traditional wheat production using hand methods required over 61 man-hours, involving numerous coordinated steps and a high degree of labour interdependence. By contrast, mechanised methods reduced total labour time to just over two hours, dramatically simplifying production and reducing the need for collective effort. According to the research, such shifts in the structure of work not only improve efficiency but also reshape the social environment in which individuals operate, gradually influencing preferences, behaviours, and cultural norms.

Professor Jung emphasised that these changes are not merely short-term adjustments but can have enduring consequences. “How changes in agricultural conditions bring about changes in cultural practices, and how changes in the environment lead to changes in cultural patterns,” he said, is central to understanding long-term development. He further noted that structural characteristics, including whether “a region is specialised,” can shape both economic and cultural trajectories over time.

Importantly, the study challenges the long-held assumption that culture is largely fixed or slow-moving. “Compared to our conventional wisdom that culture is fixed, there were very radical changes in culture. Changes in the social environment lead to long-term changes in culture,” Professor Jung stated.

In a post-seminar interview, Professor Jung said the findings have broader policy relevance but cautioned against simplistic interpretations. “This study will be useful to any sector. I believe that this can be generalised into policy implementation. I want to be a bit more cautious because we have no idea whether individualism is better or worse. Technically, I believe these lessons can be generalised into different sectors, regions and different time periods,” he said. 

He also warned that policymakers often underestimate the unintended consequences of labour organisation. “We are not concerned about the future consequences of how to organise labour, but this shows that how to organise labour has unintended consequences, and the unintended consequences could be affecting our future decisions. If you decide to work more sparsely, and it involves certain individualism, and  it somehow reduces our social trust, which could have unintended negative consequences,” he said.

Speaking on this, Professor Jinseong Park of KDI School, whose expertise spans public economics, labour economics, and policy evaluation, described the research as an important contribution to understanding the link between economic organisation and social outcomes. “I found Professor Jung's research interesting as it provides additional evidence that the degree of individualism in a society is shaped by the way people work,” he said.

On the question of how such insights might inform contemporary policy, Professor Park said, “The answer depends on the goals of social or economic programmes, which to some extent reflect the preferences of the communities governments serve. After the seminar, I had this random thought that the rise of cowork between AI and humans may further reduce the need for interpersonal cooperation, potentially fostering greater individualism—but who knows?”

Also speaking, Andrianony Ny Aina Ianjatina, a PhD student at KDI School, said the seminar offered a compelling perspective on global economic transitions. “That was a very great presentation,” she said, adding that “the main message we can gain from the seminar is that the world is moving on from collectivism to individualism.”

She drew parallels with agricultural practices in developing regions, noting that labour-intensive farming systems often reinforce collective behaviour. “For example, in an economy like Africa, where agriculture is still very dominant, the research assumes that if the farming practice is very labour-intensive, it is correlated with higher collectivism,” she said. “When we plant rice, we do it all together; we need more people working together. Today, we are moving away from that. The history of the US has shown that the more we are less into labour-intensive agriculture, the more individualistic we become.”