Prosper F. Bangwayo-Skeete () (Portfolio of Finance and Economics, Government of Cayman Islands) Afaf H. Rahim () (Center for Near and Middle Eastern Studies, Philipps- Universität Marburg, Germany) Precious Zikhali () (Centre for World Food Studies, VU University Amsterdam, The Netherlands)
Abstract
Empirical research has shown that cultural values matter for economic growth and has specifically identified the achievement motivation as an aspect of culture that engenders economic growth. If specific cultural values engender economic growth, how then can societies promote them? This paper attempts to answer this question using the 2005 wave of the World Values Survey data for 43 countries. We test the contention that education significantly impacts the relative importance an individual places on economic achievement vis-à-vis traditional social norms. Results suggest that individuals with higher education levels attach higher importance to values related to autonomy and economic achievement as compared to conformity to traditional social norms. The results have an important implication for efforts to promote economic development; institutions and specifically public policy on education could be used to encourage people to adopt values that are considered important for economic development.
Download Info
To download:
If you experience problems downloading a file, check if you have the
proper application to
view it first. Information about this may be contained
in the File-Format links below. In case of further problems read
the IDEAS help
page. Note that these files are not on the IDEAS
site. Please be patient as the files may be large.
Publisher Info
Paper provided by Philipps-Universität Marburg, Faculty of Business Administration and Economics, Department of Economics (Volkswirtschaftliche Abteilung) in its series MAGKS Papers on Economics with number
200928.