The Economic Incentives of Cultural Transmission: Spatial Evidence from Naming Patterns Across France

Algan, Yann; Malgouyres, Clément; Mayer, Thierry; Thoenig, Mathias

The Economic Incentives of Cultural Transmission: Spatial Evidence from Naming Patterns Across France

Yann Algan, Clément Malgouyres, Thierry Mayer and Mathias Thoenig

PSE-Ecole d'économie de Paris (Postprint) from HAL

Abstract: This paper studies how economic incentives influence cultural transmission, using a crucial expression of cultural identity: Child naming decisions. Our focus is on Arabic versus Non-Arabic names given in France over the 2003-2007 period. Our model of cultural transmission features three determinants: (i) vertical (parental) cultural transmission culture; (ii) horizontal (neighborhood) influence; (iii) information on the economic penalty associated with Arabic names. We find that economic incentives largely influence naming choices: Would the parental expectation on the economic penalty be zero, the annual number of babies born with an Arabic name would be more than 50 percent larger.

Keywords: Cultural Economics; Cultural Transmission; First Names; Social Interactions (search for similar items in EconPapers)
Date: 2022-02
Note: View the original document on HAL open archive server: https://shs.hal.science/halshs-03342466v1
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Published in The Economic Journal, 2022, 132 (642), pp.437-470. ⟨10.1093/ej/ueab058⟩

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Persistent link: https://EconPapers.repec.org/RePEc:hal:pseptp:halshs-03342466

DOI: 10.1093/ej/ueab058

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