Does Culture Affect Economic Outcomes?

Luigi Guiso (), Paola Sapienza () and Luigi Zingales

No 5505, CEPR Discussion Papers from C.E.P.R. Discussion Papers

Abstract: Economists have been reluctant to rely on culture as a possible determinant of economic phenomena. The notion of culture is so broad and the channels through which it can enter the economic discourse so vague that it is difficult to design testable hypotheses. In this paper we show this does need to be the case. We introduce a narrower definition of culture that allows for a simple methodology to develop and test cultural-based explanations. We also present several applications of this methodology: from the choice to become entrepreneur to that of how much to save, to end with the political decision on income redistribution.

Keywords: cultural; culture; culture economics; culture-based; economic outcomes (search for similar items in EconPapers)
JEL-codes: A10 J10 Z10 (search for similar items in EconPapers)
New Economics Papers: this item is included in nep-cul and nep-soc
Date: 2006-02
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Working Paper: Does Culture Affect Economic Outcomes? (2006)
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