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Does culture matter for the economic performance of countries? An overview of the literature

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  • Castellani, Marco

Abstract

From the point of view of economic development, the world is far from being homogeneous. Among the possible causes of such uneven evolution, culture is starting to attract the attention of a growing number of scholars. The present paper surveys some of the most important contributions on culture and economics, with a particular focus on the definition and measurement of culture and on the impact of different cultural traits on economic variables. According to this review of the literature, cultures emphasising individual effort while providing equal opportunities for everyone are more likely to encourage sustained economic growth.

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  • Castellani, Marco, 2019. "Does culture matter for the economic performance of countries? An overview of the literature," Journal of Policy Modeling, Elsevier, vol. 41(4), pages 700-717.
    • Handle: RePEc:eee:jpolmo:v:41:y:2019:i:4:p:700-717
    DOI: 10.1016/j.jpolmod.2018.06.006
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    More about this item

    Keywords

    Cultural economics; Religion; Economic development; Institutional arrangements;
    All these keywords.

    JEL classification:

    • Z10 - Other Special Topics - - Cultural Economics - - - General
    • Z12 - Other Special Topics - - Cultural Economics - - - Religion

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