"Beyond the Melting Pot": Cultural Transmission, Marriage, and the Evolution of Ethnic and Religious Traits

Alberto Bisin and Thierry Verdier

The Quarterly Journal of Economics, 2000, vol. 115, issue 3, 955-988

Abstract: This paper presents an economic analysis of the intergenerational transmission of ethnic and religious traits through family socialization and marital segregation decisions. Frequency of intragroup marriage (homogamy), as well as socialization rates of religious and ethnic groups, depend on the group's share of the population: minority groups search more intensely for homogamous mates, and spend more resources to socialize their offspring. This pattern generally induces a dynamics of the distribution of ethnic and religious traits which converges to a culturally heterogeneous stationary population. Existing empirical evidence bearing directly and indirectly on the implications of the model is discussed.

Date: 2000
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Working Paper: Beyond the Melting Pot: Cultural Transmission, Marriage, and the Evolution of Ethnic and Religious Traits (1999)
Working Paper: Beyond the Melting Pot: Cultural Transmission, Marriage, and the Evolution of Ethnic and Religious Traits (1999)
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