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Peers and Culture

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Author Info

  • Sáez-Martí, María

    (The Research Institute of Industrial Economics)

  • Sjögren, Anna

    () (The Research Institute of Industrial Economics)

Abstract

We analyze the evolution of cultural traits when parents purposefully invest resources in order to socialize their children to the cultural traits that maximize child lifetime utility. We assume that children are not passive in their adoption of traits from peers. Instead they are guided by an evaluation of the merit of traits. We show that such evaluation is likely to render this process of "oblique transmission" biased. We then show that when transmission of traits from society is biased or frequency dependent, cultural diversity is sustainable even when all parents strive to transmit the same trait. We also show that demand for cultural pluralism on the part of parent does not guarantee cultural diversity.

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Bibliographic Info

Paper provided by Research Institute of Industrial Economics in its series Working Paper Series with number 642.

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Length: 17 pages
Date of creation: 12 May 2005
Date of revision:
Handle: RePEc:hhs:iuiwop:0642

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Postal: Research Institute of Industrial Economics, Box 55665, SE-102 15 Stockholm, Sweden
Phone: +46 8 665 4500
Fax: +46 8 665 4599
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Web page: http://www.ifn.se/
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Related research

Keywords: Peer Groups; Cultural Transmission; Cultural Diversity; Oblique Transmission;

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References

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  1. Gary S. Becker, 1991. "A Note on Restaurant Pricing and Other Examples of Social Influences on Price," University of Chicago - George G. Stigler Center for Study of Economy and State 67, Chicago - Center for Study of Economy and State.
  2. Hauk, Esther & Sáez-Martí, María, 2001. "On the Cultural Transmission of Corruption," Working Paper Series 564, Research Institute of Industrial Economics.
  3. Banerjee, Abhijit V, 1992. "A Simple Model of Herd Behavior," The Quarterly Journal of Economics, MIT Press, vol. 107(3), pages 797-817, August.
  4. Sushil Bikhchandani & David Hirshleifer & Ivo Welch, 2010. "A theory of Fads, Fashion, Custom and cultural change as informational Cascades," Levine's Working Paper Archive 1193, David K. Levine.
  5. Borjas, George J, 1995. "Ethnicity, Neighborhoods, and Human-Capital Externalities," American Economic Review, American Economic Association, vol. 85(3), pages 365-90, June.
  6. Bernheim, B Douglas, 1994. "A Theory of Conformity," Journal of Political Economy, University of Chicago Press, vol. 102(5), pages 841-77, October.
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Citations

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Cited by:
  1. Lindahl, Mikael & Palme, Mårten & Sandgren Massih, Sofia & Sjögren, Anna, 2011. "Transmission of Human Capital across Four Generations: Intergenerational Correlations and a Test of the Becker-Tomes Model," Research Papers in Economics 2012:1, Stockholm University, Department of Economics.
  2. Aslund, Olof & Böhlmark, Anders & Nordström Skans, Oskar, 2009. "Age at Migration and Social Integration," IZA Discussion Papers 4263, Institute for the Study of Labor (IZA).
  3. Esther Hauk & Giovanni Immordino, 2011. "Parents, Television and Cultural Change," CSEF Working Papers 280, Centre for Studies in Economics and Finance (CSEF), University of Naples, Italy.
  4. Farvaque, Etienne & Mihailov, Alexander, 2009. "Intergenerational Transmission of Inflation Aversion: Theory and Evidence," IRISS Working Paper Series 2009-11, IRISS at CEPS/INSTEAD.
  5. Maria Saez Marti, 2010. "Models," IEW - Working Papers 495, Institute for Empirical Research in Economics - University of Zurich.
  6. Lindahl, Mikael & Palme, Mårten & Sandgren Massih, Sofia & Sjögren, Anna, 2013. "Long-term intergenerational persistence of human capital: an empirical analysis of four generations," Research Papers in Economics 2013:3, Stockholm University, Department of Economics.
  7. Bisin, Alberto & Patacchini, Eleonora & Verdier, Thierry & Zenou, Yves, 2006. "'Bend It Like Beckham': Identity, Socialization and Assimilation," CEPR Discussion Papers 5662, C.E.P.R. Discussion Papers.
  8. Maria Saez-Marti & Fabrizio Zilibotti, 2008. "Preferences as Human Capital: Rational Choice Theories of Endogenous Preferences and Socioeconomic Changes," Finnish Economic Papers, Finnish Economic Association, vol. 21(2), pages 81-94, Autumn.
  9. Jean-Baptiste Michau, 2009. "Unemployment Insurance and Cultural Transmission: Theory and Application to European Unemployment," CEP Discussion Papers dp0936, Centre for Economic Performance, LSE.
  10. Philipp Kolo, 2011. "Questioning Ethnic Fragmentation's Exogeneity - Drivers of Changing Ethnic Boundaries," Ibero America Institute for Econ. Research (IAI) Discussion Papers 210, Ibero-America Institute for Economic Research.
  11. Marina Della Giusta & Nigar Hashimzade, 2009. "Family Values and Educational Choice," Economics & Management Discussion Papers em-dp2009-01, Henley Business School, Reading University.

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