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Cultural leader and the dynamics of assimilation

Author

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  • Thierry Verdier

    (CEPR - Center for Economic Policy Research - CEPR, PSE - Paris School of Economics - UP1 - Université Paris 1 Panthéon-Sorbonne - ENS-PSL - École normale supérieure - Paris - PSL - Université Paris sciences et lettres - EHESS - École des hautes études en sciences sociales - ENPC - École des Ponts ParisTech - CNRS - Centre National de la Recherche Scientifique - INRAE - Institut National de Recherche pour l’Agriculture, l’Alimentation et l’Environnement, PJSE - Paris Jourdan Sciences Economiques - UP1 - Université Paris 1 Panthéon-Sorbonne - ENS-PSL - École normale supérieure - Paris - PSL - Université Paris sciences et lettres - EHESS - École des hautes études en sciences sociales - ENPC - École des Ponts ParisTech - CNRS - Centre National de la Recherche Scientifique - INRAE - Institut National de Recherche pour l’Agriculture, l’Alimentation et l’Environnement, PUC RIO - PUC RIO)

  • Yves Zénou

    (Université de Stockholm - Université de Stockholm - Université de Stockholm, Monash University [Melbourne], CEPR - Center for Economic Policy Research - CEPR)

Abstract

This paper studies the population dynamics of cultural traits in a model of intergenerational cultural transmission with a perfectly-forward looking cultural leader. We show that there exists a threshold size in terms of population above which the cultural leader becomes active. We also show that a policy affecting some key parameters (such as the cost of providing the religious good) has a different impact in the short run and in the long run due to over-reactions or under-reactions of the different cultural groups. Finally, we study the cultural competition between two forward-looking cultural leaders with opposite objectives. We show that the steady-state cultural equilibrium depends on the time preference structure of the two leaders.

Suggested Citation

  • Thierry Verdier & Yves Zénou, 2018. "Cultural leader and the dynamics of assimilation," PSE-Ecole d'économie de Paris (Postprint) halshs-01887097, HAL.
    • Handle: RePEc:hal:pseptp:halshs-01887097
    DOI: 10.1016/j.jet.2018.01.019
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    More about this item

    Keywords

    Cultural substituability; Integration; Forward-looking leader;
    All these keywords.

    JEL classification:

    • J13 - Labor and Demographic Economics - - Demographic Economics - - - Fertility; Family Planning; Child Care; Children; Youth
    • J15 - Labor and Demographic Economics - - Demographic Economics - - - Economics of Minorities, Races, Indigenous Peoples, and Immigrants; Non-labor Discrimination
    • Z10 - Other Special Topics - - Cultural Economics - - - General

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