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Culture, Languages, and Economics

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  • Ginsburgh, Victor
  • Weber, Shlomo

Abstract

The impact of various facets of cultural diversity on economic outcomes has become a topic of intensive research in economics. This paper focuses on linguistic diversity as one of the important aspects of cultural heterogeneity, and more specifically, The aim of this paper is to formally examine two opposing forces, standardization and efficiency on the one hand, and cultural attachment and linguistic disenfranchisement, on the other, and to outline ways of bringing them to balance each other. In our measurement of disenfranchisement and fractionalization we heavily rely on the notion of linguistic distances or proximity between various linguistic groups. We also analyze the impact of linguistic diversity on trade, migration and markets for translation. We conclude by examining the issue of disenfranchisement in the European Union and possible standardization policies to address this issue.

Suggested Citation

  • Ginsburgh, Victor & Weber, Shlomo, 2013. "Culture, Languages, and Economics," CEPR Discussion Papers 9357, C.E.P.R. Discussion Papers.
    • Handle: RePEc:cpr:ceprdp:9357
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    Cited by:

    1. Peter Egger & Andrea Lassmann & Peter H. Egger, 2014. "Cultural Integration and Export Variety Overlap Across Countries," CESifo Working Paper Series 4800, CESifo.

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    More about this item

    Keywords

    Culture; Ethnolinguistic fractionalization; Economic impact; Measurement of diversity; Linguistic disenfranchisement; Standardization policies;
    All these keywords.

    JEL classification:

    • D63 - Microeconomics - - Welfare Economics - - - Equity, Justice, Inequality, and Other Normative Criteria and Measurement
    • H77 - Public Economics - - State and Local Government; Intergovernmental Relations - - - Intergovernmental Relations; Federalism
    • Z18 - Other Special Topics - - Cultural Economics - - - Public Policy

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