Values and Economic Performance: Theory and some Evidence from Kenya

Gilad Aharonovitz and Elizabeth Nyaga ()
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Elizabeth Nyaga: School of Economic Sciences, Washington State University

No 2008-18, Working Papers from School of Economic Sciences, Washington State University

Abstract: Policy, saving rates, human capital, etc. are possible explanations for poor economic performance, but while these factors are changeable, underdevelopment persists. Looking for an unchangeable factor, we construct a theory for the effect of values, such as moral values, risk-taking, and responsibility to others, on economic performance, and demonstrate it using a model in which responsibility for parents prevents development. We construct data of economic performance and values of seven tribes in Kenya by inferring values from children's stories, and verify the model. Thus, we open a door for the quantitative analysis of the effect of values over the economy.

Keywords: economic development; values; social norms; Kenya (search for similar items in EconPapers)
JEL-codes: A13 O10 O55 Z10 (search for similar items in EconPapers)
Pages: 38 pages
Date: 2008-08
New Economics Papers: this item is included in nep-afr and nep-dev
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Citations: View citations in EconPapers (3)

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