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Culture, Institutions and the Wealth of Nations

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  • Gorodnichenko, Yuriy

    () (University of California, Berkeley)

  • Roland, Gerald

    () (University of California, Berkeley)

Abstract

We construct an endogenous growth model that includes a cultural variable along the dimension of individualism-collectivism. The model predicts that more individualism leads to more innovation because of the social rewards associated with innovation in an individualist culture. This cultural effect may offset the negative effects of bad institutions on growth. Collectivism leads to efficiency gains relative to individualism, but these gains are static, unlike the dynamic effect of individualism on growth through innovation. Using genetic data as instruments for culture we provide strong evidence of a causal effect of individualism on income per worker and total factor productivity as well as on innovation. The baseline genetic markers we use are interpreted as proxies for cultural transmission but others have a direct effect on individualism and collectivism, in line with recent advances in biology and neuro-science. The effect of culture on long-run growth remains very robust even after controlling for the effect of institutions and other factors. We also provide evidence of a two-way causal effect between culture and institutions.

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Bibliographic Info

Paper provided by Institute for the Study of Labor (IZA) in its series IZA Discussion Papers with number 5187.

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Length: 52 pages
Date of creation: Sep 2010
Date of revision:
Handle: RePEc:iza:izadps:dp5187

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Keywords: culture; institutions; development; growth;

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  1. Rafael LaPorta & Florencio Lopez de-Silanes & Andrei Shleifer & Robert W. Vishny, 1996. "Law and Finance," Harvard Institute of Economic Research Working Papers 1768, Harvard - Institute of Economic Research.
    • Rafael La Porta & Florencio Lopez-de-Silane & Andrei Shleifer & Robert W. Vishny, 1996. "Law and Finance," NBER Working Papers 5661, National Bureau of Economic Research, Inc.
    • La Porta, Rafael & Lopez-de-Silanes, Florencio & Shleifer, Andrei & Vishny, Robert W., 1998. "Law and Finance," Scholarly Articles 3451310, Harvard University Department of Economics.
  2. Raquel Fernandez & Alessandra Fogli, 2005. "Culture: An Empirical Investigation of Beliefs, Work, and Fertility," NBER Working Papers 11268, National Bureau of Economic Research, Inc.
  3. Philippe Aghion & Yann Algan & Pierre Cahuc & Andrei Shleifer, 2010. "Regulation and Distrust," The Quarterly Journal of Economics, MIT Press, vol. 125(3), pages 1015-1049, August.
  4. Francesco Aiello & Vincenzo Scoppa, 2000. "Uneven Regional Development in Italy: Explaining Differences in Productivity Levels," Giornale degli Economisti, GDE (Giornale degli Economisti e Annali di Economia), Bocconi University, vol. 59(2), pages 270-298, September.
  5. Wacziarg, Romain & Spolaore, Enrico, 2006. "The Diffusion of Development," Research Papers 1898r1, Stanford University, Graduate School of Business.
  6. Matthias Doepke & Fabrizio Zilibotti, 2008. "Occupational Choice and the Spirit of Capitalism," The Quarterly Journal of Economics, MIT Press, vol. 123(2), pages 747-793, 05.
  7. Licht, Amir N. & Goldschmidt, Chanan & Schwartz, Shalom H., 2007. "Culture rules: The foundations of the rule of law and other norms of governance," Journal of Comparative Economics, Elsevier, vol. 35(4), pages 659-688, December.
  8. Raquel Fernández & Alessandra Fogli & Claudia Olivetti, 2004. "Mothers and Sons: Preference Formation and Female Labor Force Dynamics," The Quarterly Journal of Economics, MIT Press, vol. 119(4), pages 1249-1299, November.
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Cited by:
  1. Matthias Bürker & G. Alfredo Minerva, 2012. "Civic Capital and the Size Distribution of Plants: Short-Run Dynamics and Long-Run Equilibrium," Working Papers 2012.81, Fondazione Eni Enrico Mattei.
  2. Roman Horváth, 2012. "Does Trust Promote Growth?," Working Papers 319, Institut für Ost- und Südosteuropaforschung (Institute for East and South-East European Studies).
  3. D'Orlando, Fabio & Ferrante, Francesco & Ruiu, Gabriele, 2011. "Culturally based beliefs and labor market institutions," The Journal of Socio-Economics, Elsevier, vol. 40(2), pages 150-162, April.
  4. Spolaore, Enrico & Wacziarg, Romain, 2012. "How Deep Are the Roots of Economic Development?," CEPR Discussion Papers 8998, C.E.P.R. Discussion Papers.
  5. Ruiu, Gabriele, 2012. "Is fatalism a cultural belief? An empirical analysis on the origin of fatalistic tendencies," MPRA Paper 41705, University Library of Munich, Germany.
  6. Sergey Mityakov & Heiwai Tang & Kevin K. Tsui, 2011. "Geopolitics, Global Patterns of Oil Trade, and China¡¦s Oil Security Quest," Working Papers 322011, Hong Kong Institute for Monetary Research.
  7. Fogli, Alessandra & Veldkamp, Laura, 2012. "Germs, Social Networks and Growth," CEPR Discussion Papers 9188, C.E.P.R. Discussion Papers.
  8. Wahl, Fabian, 2012. "Why it matters what people think: Beliefs, legal origins and the deep roots of trust," FZID Discussion Papers 52-2012, University of Hohenheim, Center for Research on Innovation and Services (FZID).
  9. Guerriero, Carmine, 2011. "Accountability in government and regulatory policies: Theory and evidence," Journal of Comparative Economics, Elsevier, vol. 39(4), pages 453-469.
  10. Mathieu Couttenier & Marc Sangnier, 2012. "Living in the Garden of Eden: Mineral Resources Foster Individualism," Cahiers de Recherches Economiques du Département d'Econométrie et d'Economie politique (DEEP) 12.05, Université de Lausanne, Faculté des HEC, DEEP.
  11. Jan Fidrmuc, 2012. "How Persistent is Social Capital?," CEDI Discussion Paper Series 12-04, Centre for Economic Development and Institutions(CEDI), Brunel University.
  12. repec:hal:wpaper:halshs-00564920 is not listed on IDEAS

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