Generativity and social value orientation between rural and urban societies in a developing country

Generativity, concern and commitment for the next generation, is an important factor in the sustainable development of a society, as intergenerational sustainability is claimed to have been compromised over the last decades. Generativity emerges through both prosocial and proself behaviors characterized by social preferences and is now hypothesized to have decreased in some urban societies; this is referred to as the “generativity crisis.” However, little is known about how ongoing urbanization of competitive societies, i.e., capitalism, and social preferences are related to generativity. To this end, we conduct field experiments on social value orientation and administer a generative behavior checklist in two strata of Nepalese society: (1) the urban and (2) the rural. The analysis finds that prosociality and the rural-specific effect are the two major factors that increase people's generativity, while a larger proportion of prosocial people are found in rural areas than in urban areas. Overall, these results suggest that generativity will decrease with further urbanization, changing the economic culture and orientation of the populace so that there is less concern for future generations.