Does Culture Matter for Development?

Lopez-Claros, Augusto; Perotti, Valeria

Does Culture Matter for Development?

Autores

Lopez-Claros, Augusto

Perotti, Valeria

Editor

World Bank Group, Washington, DC

Descripción

Economists have either avoided or struggled with the concept of culture and its role in economic development. Although a few theoretical works -- and even fewer empirical studies -- have appeared in the past decades, this paper tries to build on a multidisciplinary approach to review the evidence on whether and how culture matters for development. First, the paper reviews available definitions of culture and illustrates ways in which culture can change and create favorable conditions for economic development. Second, the paper discusses the challenges of separating the effect of culture from other drivers of human behavior such as incentives, the availability of information, or climate. Finally, the paper argues that globalization has led to the emergence of a set of progressive values that are common cultural traits of all developed economies.

Palabras clave

ACCESS TO INFORMATION, AGRICULTURE, ANTHROPOLOGIST, ANTHROPOLOGISTS, ANTHROPOLOGY, ARCHIVES, ART, AUTONOMY, BALANCE OF PAYMENTS, BASIC, BELIEFS, CAPITALISM, CENTRAL PLANNING, CENTRALIZATION, CITIES, CIVILIZATION, CIVILIZATIONS, COMPARATIVE ADVANTAGE, COMPARATIVE ECONOMICS, COMPETITIVE ADVANTAGE, COMPETITIVENESS, CONCEPTUAL FRAMEWORK, CULTURAL ATTRIBUTES, CULTURAL CHANGE, CULTURAL DIFFERENCES, CULTURAL ECOLOGY, CULTURAL EXCHANGE, CULTURAL FACTORS, CULTURAL HERITAGE, CULTURAL IDENTITY, CULTURAL INTEGRATION, CULTURAL LANDSCAPE, CULTURAL NORMS, CULTURE IN DEVELOPMENT, CULTURES, CUSTOM, CUSTOMS, DAILY LIFE, DEBT, DECISION MAKING, DEPENDENCE, DEVELOPED COUNTRIES, DEVELOPMENT ECONOMICS, DEVELOPMENT POLICY, DEVELOPMENT STRATEGIES, DEVELOPMENT STRATEGY, DISCOURSE, DISCRIMINATION, DISTRICTS, DIVERSITY, DIVISION OF LABOR, ECOLOGY, ECONOMIC CONSEQUENCES, ECONOMIC DEVELOPMENT, ECONOMIC EFFICIENCY, ECONOMIC EXCHANGE, ECONOMIC GROWTH, ECONOMIC HISTORIANS, ECONOMIC HISTORY, ECONOMIC INCENTIVES, ECONOMIC OUTCOMES, ECONOMIC PERFORMANCE, ECONOMIC POLICIES, ECONOMIC POWER, ECONOMIC THEORIES, ECONOMIC THEORY, ECONOMIES OF SCALE, EDUCATED POPULATIONS, EMPIRICAL EVIDENCE, EMPIRICAL RESEARCH, EMPIRICAL STUDIES, ENVIRONMENTS, ETHICS, ETHNICITY, EXPORTS, EXTENDED FAMILY, FOLKLORE, GDP, GDP PER CAPITA, GENDER, GEOGRAPHY, GLOBAL CULTURE, GOVERNMENT POLICIES, HISTORIANS, HISTORICAL RECORDS, HOUSEHOLDS, HUMAN BEHAVIOR, HUMAN CAPITAL, HUMAN SOCIETIES, INDUSTRIALIZATION, INHERITANCE, INTERNATIONAL TRADE, KINSHIP, LABOR FORCE, LABOR PRODUCTIVITY, LAND ECONOMICS, LANGUAGES, LEARNING, LITERATURE, LIVING ARRANGEMENTS, MACROECONOMICS, MAGIC, MARRIAGES, MIDDLE AGES, MIGRATION, MIGRATIONS, MINING, MISSIONARIES, MULTICULTURALISM, MUSIC, NATURAL RESOURCE MANAGEMENT, NATURAL RESOURCES, NUCLEAR FAMILIES, OPEN MARKETS, OPPORTUNITY COSTS, PERCEPTIONS, PHYSIOLOGY, POLICY MAKERS, POLITICAL ECONOMY, POPULATION DYNAMICS, POWER, PRIVATE PROPERTY, PRODUCTIVITY GROWTH, PROFIT SEEKING, PROPERTY RIGHTS, PUBERTY, REGRESSION ANALYSIS, RELIGION, RELIGIOUS ASSOCIATION, RESTORATION, RITES, RITUAL, SCHOOLS, SECURE PROPERTY RIGHTS, SLAVERY, SOCIAL DEVELOPMENT, SOCIAL FACTORS, SOCIAL GROUPS, SOCIAL NETWORKS, SOCIAL PSYCHOLOGY, SOCIAL STRUCTURES, SOCIETY, SOCIOLOGISTS, SOCIOLOGY, SPECIALIZATION, SPORTS, STONE, SUSTAINABLE GROWTH, SYMBOLS, TABOOS, TECHNOLOGICAL CHANGE, TEXTILE FACTORIES, TEXTILE MILLS, TEXTILES, TRADITION, TRADITIONAL TECHNIQUES, TRADITIONS, TRAVELS, WAGE DIFFERENTIALS, WAGES, WEALTH