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Cultural economics

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For an alternate standard usage of 'cultural economics', see Economics of the arts and literature.
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Cultural economics is the branch of economics that studies the relation of culture to economic outcomes. Here, 'culture' is defined by shared beliefs and preferences of respective groups. Programmatic issues include whether and how much culture matters as to economic outcomes and what its relation is to institutions.[1]

Applications include the study of religion,[2] social norms.[3] social identity,[4] fertility,[5] beliefs in redistributive justice,[6] ideology,[7] hatred,[8] terrorism,[9] trust,[10] and the culture of economics.[11][12] A general analytical theme is how ideas and behaviors are spread among individuals through the formation of social capital,[13] social networks[14] and processes such as social learning, as in the theory of social evolution[15] and information cascades.[16] Methods include case studies and theoretical and empirical modeling of cultural transmission within and across social groups.[17] In 2013 Said E. Dawlabani added the value systems approach to the cultural emergence aspect of macroeconomics.[18]

Development

Cultural economics develops from how wants and tastes are formed in society. This is partly due to nurture aspects, or what type of environment one is raised in, as it is the internalization of one’s upbringing that shapes their future wants and tastes.[19] Acquired tastes can be thought of as an example of this, as they demonstrate how preferences can be shaped socially.[20]

A key thought area that separates the development of cultural economics from traditional economics is a difference in how individuals arrive at their decisions. While a traditional economist will view decision making as having both implicit and explicit consequences, a cultural economist would argue that an individual will not only arrive at their decision based on these implicit and explicit decisions but based on trajectories. These trajectories consist of regularities, which have been built up throughout the years and guide individuals in their decision-making process.[21]

Combining value systems and systems thinking

Economists have also started to look at cultural economics with a systems thinking approach. In this approach, the economy and culture are each viewed as a single system where "interaction and feedback effects were acknowledged, and where in particular the dynamic were made explicit".[22] In this sense, the interdependencies of culture and the economy can be combined and better understood by following this approach.

Said E. Dawlabani's book MEMEnomics: The Next-Generation Economic System[18] combines the ideas of value systems (see value (ethics)) and systems thinking to provide one of the first frameworks that explores the effect of economic policies on culture. The book explores the intersections of multiple disciplines such as cultural development, organizational behavior, and memetics all in an attempt to explore the roots of cultural economics.[23]

Growth

The advancing pace of new technology is transforming how the public consumes and shares culture. The cultural economic field has seen great growth with the advent of online social networking which has created productivity improvements in how culture is consumed. New technologies have also lead to cultural convergence where all kinds of culture can be accessed on a single device. Throughout their upbringing, younger persons of the current generation are consuming culture faster than their parents ever did, and through new mediums. The smartphone is a blossoming example of this where books, music, talk, artwork and more can all be accessed on a single device in a matter of seconds.[24] This medium and the culture surrounding it is beginning to have an effect on the economy, whether it be increasing communication while lowering costs, lowering the barriers of entry to the technology economy, or making use of excess capacity.[25]

An example of culture being consumed via smartphone.

This field has also seen growth through the advent of new economic studies that have put on a cultural lens. For example, a recent study on Europeans living with their families into adulthood was conducted by Paola Sapienza, a professor at Northwestern University. The study found that those of Southern European descent tend to live at home with their families longer than those of Northern European descent. Sapienza added cultural critique to her analysis of the research, revealing that it is Southern European culture to stay at home longer and then related this to how those who live at home longer have fewer children and start families later, thus contributing to Europe's falling birthrates.[26] Sapienza's work is an example of how the growth of cultural economics is beginning to spread across the field.[27]

Sustainable development

An area that cultural economics has a strong presence in is sustainable development. Sustainable development has been defined as "...development that meets the needs of the present without compromising the ability of future generations to meet their own needs...".[28] Culture plays an important role in this as it can determine how people view preparing for these future generations. Delayed gratification is a cultural economic issue that developed countries are currently dealing with. Economists argue that to ensure that the future is better than today, certain measures must be taken such as collecting taxes or "going green" to protect the environment. Policies such as these are hard for today's politicians to promote who want to win the vote of today's voters who are concerned with the present and not the future. People want to see the benefits now, not in the future.[29]

Economist David Throsby has proposed the idea of culturally sustainable development which compasses both the cultural industries (such as the arts) and culture (in the societal sense). He has created a set of criteria in regards to for which policy prescriptions can be compared to in order to ensure growth for future generations. The criteria are as follows:[30]

  • (1) Advancement of material and non-material well-being: implies balance amongst economic, social, and cultural forces
  • (2) Intergenerational equity and the maintenance of cultural capital: current generation must recognize their responsibility to future generations
  • (3) Equity within the present generation: distribution of cultural resources must be fair
  • (4) Recognition of interdependence: policy must understand the connections between economic, cultural and other variables within an overall system.

With these guidelines, Throsby hopes to spur the recognition between culture and economics, which is something he believes has been lacking from popular economic discussions.

Cultural Finance

As a growing field in behavioral economics, the role of culture in financial behavior is increasingly being demonstrate to cause highly significant differentials in the management and valuation of assets. Using the dimensions of culture identified by Shalom Schwartz, it has been proved that corporate dividend payments are determined largely by the dimensions of Mastery and Conservatism. [31] Specifically, higher degrees of conservatism are associated with greater volumes and values of dividend payments, and higher degrees of mastery are associated with the total opposite. A different study assessed the role of culture on earnings management using using Geert Hofstede’s cultural dimensions and the index of earnings management developed by Christian Leutz; which includes the use of accrual alteration to reduce volatility in reported earnings, the use of accrual alteration to reduce volatility in reported operating cash flows, use of accounting discretion to mitigate the reporting of small losses, and the use of accounting discretion when reporting operating earnings. It was found that Hofstede's dimension of Individualism was negatively correlated with earnings management, and that Uncertainty Avoidance was positively correlated. [32] Behavioral economist Michael Taillard demonstrated that investment behaviors are caused primarily by behavioral factors, largely attributed to the influence of culture on the psychological frame of the investors in different nations, rather than rational ones by comparing the cultural dimensions used both by Geert Hofstede and Robert House, identifying strong and specific influences in risk aversion behavior resulting from the overlapping cultural dimensions between them that remained constant over a 20 year period. [33]

In regards to investing, it has been confirmed by multiple studies that greater differences between the cultures of various nations reduces the amount of investment between those countries. It was proven that both cultural differences between nations as well as the amount of unfamiliarity investors have with a culture not their own greatly reduces their willingness to invest in those nations, and that these factors have a negative impact with future returns, resulting in a cost premium on the degree of foreignness of an investment. [34][35] Despite this, equity markets continue to integrate as indicated by equity price comovements, of which the two largest contributing factors are the ratio of trade between nations and the ratio of GDP resulting from foreign direct investment. [36] Even these factors are the result of behavioral sources, however. [37] The UN World Investment Report (2013) [38] shows that regional integration is occurring at a more rapid rate than distant foreign relations, confirming an earlier study concluding that nations closer to each other then to be more integrated. [39] Since increased cultural distance reduces the amount of foreign direct investment (Baik et al., 2012; Christelis & Georgarakos, 2013; Xu et al., 2009), this results in an accelerating curvilinear correlation between financial behavior and cultural distance. [40][41][42]

Culture also influences which factors are useful when predicting stock valuations. In Jordan, it was found that 84% of variability in stock returns were accounted for by using money supply, interest rate term structure, industry productivity growth, and risk premium; but were not influenced at all by inflation rates or dividend yield. [43] In Nigeria, both real GDP and Consumer Price Index were both useful predictive factors, but foreign exchange rate was not. [44] In Zimbabwe, only money supply and oil prices were found to be useful predictors of stock market valuations. [45] India identified exchange rate, wholesale price index, gold prices, and market index as being useful factors. [46] A comprehensive global study out of Romania attempted to identify if any factors of stock market valuation were culturally universal, identifying interest rates, inflation, and industrial production, but found that exchange rate, currency exchange volume, and trade were all unique to Romania. [47]


See also

Notes

  1. ^ Press + button or ctrl + for small-font links below.
       • Raquel Fernández, 2008. "culture and economics." The New Palgrave Dictionary of Economics, 2nd Edition. Abstract and pre-publication copy.
       • Luigi Guiso, Paola Sapienza, and Luigi Zingales, 2006. "Does Culture Affect Economic Outcomes?," Journal of Economic Perspectives, 20(2), pp. 23-48.
       • Victor A. Ginsburgh & David Throsby ed., 2006, Handbook of the Economics of Art and Culture, v. 1:
           Mark Casson. "Culture and Economic Performance," Chapter 12, pp. 359-397. Abstract.
           Paul Streeten. "Culture and Economic Development," Chapter 13, pp. 399-412. Abstract.
       • Jeanette D. Snowball, 2008. Measuring the Value of Culture, Springer. Description and Arrow-page searchable chapter links.
       • Joseph Henrich et al., 2005. "'Economic Man' in Cross-Cultural Perspective: Behavioral Experiments in 15 Small-scale Societies," Behavioral and Brain Sciences, 28(6), pp. 795-815.[permanent dead link]
       • Samuel Bowles, 1998. "Endogenous Preferences: The Cultural Consequences of Markets and Other Economic Institutions," Journal of Economic Literature, 36(1), pp. 75–111.
       • Guido Tabellini, 2008. "Institutions and Culture," Journal of the European Economic Association, 6(2/3),2008), pp. 255-294.
  2. ^ • Laurence R. Iannaccone, 1998. "Introduction to the Economics of Religion," Journal of Economic Literature, 36(3), pp. 1465–1495.
       • Laurence R. Iannaccone and Eli Berman, 2008. "religion, economics of," The New Palgrave Dictionary of Economics, 2nd Edition. Abstract.
  3. ^ • H. Peyton Young, 2008. "social norms." The New Palgrave Dictionary of Economics, 2nd Edition. Abstract
       • Kenneth G. Binmore and Larry Samuelson, 1994. "An Economist's Perspective on the Evolution of Norms," Journal of Institutional and Theoretical Economics, 150(1), pp. 45-63. Abstract.
       • Richard A. Posner, 1997. "Social Norms and the Law: An Economic Approach," American Economic Review, 87(2), p p. 365-369.
       • Gary S. Becker and Kevin M. Murphy, 2001, Social Economics: Market Behavior in a Social Environment, ch. 10, "The Formation of Norms and Values." Description and table of contents. Harvard University Press.
       • Jess Benhabib, Alberto Bisin, and Matthew Jackson, ed., 2011. Handbook of Social Economics, Elsevier. Vol. 1A: Part 1. Social Preferences, ch. 1-11; Part 2. Social Actions, ch. 12-17. Description & Contents links and chapter-preview links.
       • Arthur J. Robson, 2008. "group selection," The New Palgrave Dictionary of Economics, 2nd Edition. Abstract.
  4. ^ George A. Akerlof and Rachel E. Kranton, 2000. "Economics and Identity," Quarterly Journal of Economics, 115(3), pp. 715–53.
       • _____, 2005. "Identity and the Economics of Organizations," Journal of Economic Perspectives, 19(1), pp. 9–32.
       • _____, 2010. Identity Economics: How Our Identities Shape Our Work, Wages, and Well-Being, Princeton University Press. Description & TOC, "Introduction," pp. 3-8, and preview.
  5. ^ Raquel Fernández and Alessandra Fogli, 2006. "Fertility: The Role of Culture and Family Experience," Journal of the European Economic Association, 4(2/3), p p. 552-561.
  6. ^ Roland Bénabou and Jean Tirole, 2006. "Belief in a Just World and Redistributive Politics," Quarterly Journal of Economics, 121(2), pp. 699-746.
  7. ^ • Roland Bénabou, 2008. "Ideology," Journal of the European Economic Association, 6(2-3), pp. 321-352. Archived 2010-06-12 at the Wayback Machine.
       • Joseph P. Kalt and Mark A. Zupan, 1984. "Capture and Ideology in the Economic Theory of Politics," American Economic Review, 74(3), p p. 279-300. Reprinted in C. Grafton and A. Permaloff, ed., 2005, The Behavioral Study of Political Ideology and Public Policy Formation, ch. 4, pp. 65-104.
       • Bisina, Alberto; Verdier, Thierry (March 2000). "A model of cultural transmission, voting and political ideology". European Journal of Political Economy. 16 (1). Elsevier: 5–29. doi:10.1016/S0176-2680(99)00045-2. {{cite journal}}: Invalid |ref=harv (help)CS1 maint: postscript (link)
       • D. Andrew Austin and Nathaniel T. Wilcox, 2007. "Believing in Economic Theories: Sex, Lies, Evidence, Trust, and Ideology," Economic Inquiry 45(3), pp. 502–518 Archived 2016-05-22 at the Portuguese Web Archive.
       • Timur Kuran, 1995. Private Truths, Public Lies: The Social Consequences of Preference Falsification. Harvard University Press. Description and scroll to chapter-preview links.
  8. ^ Edward L. Glaeser, 2005. "The Political Economy Of Hatred," Quarterly Journal of Economics, 120(1), pp. 45-86. Archived 2011-06-22 at the Wayback Machine
  9. ^ • S. Brock Blomberg and Gregory D. Hess,`2008. "terrorism, economics of," The New Palgrave Dictionary of Economics, 2nd Edition. Abstract.
       • Alan B. Krueger, 2008. What Makes a Terrorist: Economics and the Roots of Terrorism, Princeton. Description, Introduction, and ch. 1 preview.
  10. ^ • Joyce Berg, John Dickhaut, and Kevin McCabe, 1995. "Trust, Reciprocity, and Social History," Games and Economic Behavior, 10(1), pp. 122-142. Abstract.
       • Raymond Fismana and Tarun Khanna, 1999. "Is Trust a Historical Residue? Information Flows and Trust Levels." Journal of Economic Behavior & Organization, 38(1), pp. 79-92. Abstract.
       • Nava Ashraf, Iris Bohnet, and Nikita Piankov, 2006. "Decomposing Trust and Trustworthiness," Experimental Economics, 9(3), p p. 193-208.
       • Paul J. Zak and Stephen Knack, 2001. "Trust and Growth," Economic Journal, 111(470), p p. 295-321.
       • Patrick Francois and Jan Zabojnik, 2005. "Trust, Social Capital, and Economic Development," Journal of the European Economic Association, 3(1), p p. 51-94.
       • Sjoerd Beugelsdijk, 2006. "A Note on the Theory and Measurement of Trust in Explaining Differences in Economic Growth," Cambridge Journal of Economics, 30(3), pp. 371–387. Archived 2010-06-15 at the Wayback Machine
       • Swee-Hoon Chuah et al., 2007. "Do Cultures Clash? Evidence from Cross-national Ultimatum Game Experiments," Journal of Economic Behavior & Organization, 64(1), pp. 35-48. Abstract.
  11. ^ • Melvin W. Reder, 1999. Economics: The Culture of a Controversial Science, Description and chapter links.
       • Joseph J. Spengler,1970. "Notes on the International Transmission of Economic Ideas," History of Political Economy, 2(1), p p. 133-151.
       • Yuval Yonay and Daniel Breslau, 2006. "Marketing Models: The Culture of Mathematical Economics," Sociological Forum, 21(3), p p. 345-386. HTMl[permanent dead link]
  12. ^ As at Journal of Economic Literature category JEL: Z1 Cultural Economics,....
  13. ^ • Partha Dasgupta, 2008. "social capital," The New Palgrave Dictionary of Economics, 2nd Edition. Abstract.
       • Joel Sobel, 2002. "Can We Trust Social Capital?" Journal of Economic Literature, 40(1), pp. 139-154 (close Bookmarks tab).
  14. ^ James Moody and Martina Morris. "social networks, economic relevance of," The New Palgrave Dictionary of Economics, 2nd Edition Abstract.
  15. ^ • Paul Seabright, 2008. "hunters, gatherers, cities and evolution," The New Palgrave Dictionary of Economics, 2nd Edition. Abstract.
       • Alberto Bisin and Thierry Verdier, 2008. "cultural transmission," The New Palgrave Dictionary of Economics, 2nd Edition. Abstract.
       • Joel M. Guttman, 2003. "Repeated Interaction and the Evolution of Preferences for Reciprocity," Economic Journal, 113(489), p p. 631-656.
       • Alberto Bisin et al., 2004. "Cooperation as a Transmitted Cultural Trait," Rationality and Society, 16(4), 477-507. Abstract.
  16. ^ • Sushil Bikhchandani, David Hirshleifer, and Ivo Welch, 1992. "A Theory of Fads, Fashion, Custom, and Cultural Change as Informational Cascades." Journal of Political Economy, 100(5), pp. 992-1026. Archived 2011-07-13 at the Wayback Machine
       • Sushil Bikhchandani, David Hirshleifer, and Ivo Welch, 1998. "Learning from the Behavior of Others: Conformity, Fads, and Informational Cascades," Journal of Economic Perspectives, 12(3), pp. 151-170. Archived 2011-08-15 at the Wayback Machine
       • Sushil Bikhchandani, David Hirshleifer, and Ivo Welch, 2008. "information cascades," The New Palgrave Dictionary of Economics, 2nd Edition. Abstract. Archived 2013-01-21 at archive.today
  17. ^ • Alberto Bisin and Thierry Verdier, 2008. "cultural transmission. The New Palgrave Dictionary of Economics, 2nd Edition. Abstract.
       • Rob Boyd, 2008. "cross-cultural experiments." The New Palgrave Dictionary of Economics, 2nd Edition. Abstract.
       • José A. Scheinkman, 2008. "social interactions (theory)," The New Palgrave Dictionary of Economics, 2nd Edition.Abstract.
       • Charles F. Manski, 2000. "Economic Analysis of Social Interactions," Journal of Economic Perspectives, 14(3), pp.115-36 here or here or with linked citations.
       • Edward P. Lazear, 1999. "Culture and Language," Journal of Political Economy, 107(6), Part 2, p p. S95-S126. Complete abstract.
  18. ^ a b Said Elias Dawlabani. MEMEnomics; The Next Generation Economic System, ISBN 978-1590799963
  19. ^ Stretton, Hugh (1999). Economics. Pluto Press. pp. 247–255 – via JSTOR.
  20. ^ Hutter, Michael (1996). "The Impact of Cultural Economics on Economic Theory". Journal of Cultural Economics. 20: 263–268 – via JSTOR.
  21. ^ Weber, Roberto; Dawes, Robyn (2005). The Handbook of Economic Sociology, Second Edition. Princeton University Press. p. 101 – via JSTOR.
  22. ^ Throsby, David (1995). "Culture, Economics and Sustainability". Journal of Cultural Economics. 19: 199–216 – via JSTOR.
  23. ^ "WHAT IS MEMENOMICS | The MEMEnomics Group. Uncovering the values of a sustainable future". www.memenomics.com. Retrieved 2017-03-05.
  24. ^ Cowen, Tyler (2008). "Why everything has changed: the recent revolution in cultural economics". Journal of Cultural Economics. 32: 261–273 – via JSTOR.
  25. ^ kayla.mcphail (2016-03-04). "How the Smartphone has Impacted Economic Development". The University of Scranton Online. Retrieved 2017-03-27.
  26. ^ "Europe needs many more babies to avert a population disaster". The Guardian. 23 August 2015. Retrieved 4 March 2017. {{cite news}}: Cite has empty unknown parameter: |dead-url= (help)
  27. ^ "Is Economic Growth a Question of Culture?". Kellogg Insight. 2014-09-02. Retrieved 2017-03-04.
  28. ^ "Sustainable Development". International Institute for Sustainable Development. Retrieved March 4, 2017. {{cite web}}: Cite has empty unknown parameter: |dead-url= (help)
  29. ^ Galston, William (2014). "Economics and Culture in Market Democracies". The New Challenge to Market Democracies. Brookings Institution Press. pp. 14–18 – via JSTOR.
  30. ^ Throsby, David (1995). "Journal of Cultural Economics". Journal of Cultural Economics. 19: 199–206 – via JSTOR.
  31. ^ Shao, L; Kwok, C; Guedhami, O (2010). "National culture and dividend policy". Journal of International Business Studies. 41 (8): 1391–1414.
  32. ^ Callen, L; Morel, M; Richardson, G (2011). "Do culture and religion mitigate earnings management? Evidence from a cross-country analysis". Journal of Disclosure and Governance. 8 (2): 103–121.
  33. ^ Taillard, Michael (2017). "Cultural Influences of Investing Behavior: A Correlational Design Study". ProQuest.
  34. ^ Xu, Y; Hu, S; Fan, X (2009). "The impacts of country risk and cultural distance on transnational equity investments". Chinese Management Studies. 3 (3): 235–248.
  35. ^ Baik, B; Kang, J; Kim, J (2012). "The liability of foreignness in international equity investments: Evidence from the US stock market". Journal of International Business Studies. 43: 107–122. {{cite journal}}: Unknown parameter |First4= ignored (|first4= suggested) (help); Unknown parameter |Last4= ignored (|last4= suggested) (help)
  36. ^ Shi, J; Bilson, C; Powell, J (2010). "Foreign Direct Investment and International Stock Market Integration". Australian Journal of Management. 35 (3): 265. {{cite journal}}: Unknown parameter |First4= ignored (|first4= suggested) (help); Unknown parameter |Last4= ignored (|last4= suggested) (help)
  37. ^ Xu, Y; Hu, S; Fan, X (2009). "The impacts of country risk and cultural distance on transnational equity investments". Chinese Management Studies. 3 (3): 235–248.
  38. ^ UN World Investment Report 2013 [1]
  39. ^ Kivilcim, Y; Muradoglu, S (2001). "The impacts of country risk and cultural distance on transnational equity investments". Chinese Management Studies. 3 (3): 235–248.
  40. ^ Baik, B; Kang, J; Kim, J (2012). "The liability of foreignness in international equity investments: Evidence from the US stock market". Journal of International Business Studies. 43: 107–122. {{cite journal}}: Unknown parameter |First4= ignored (|first4= suggested) (help); Unknown parameter |Last4= ignored (|last4= suggested) (help)
  41. ^ Xu, Y; Hu, S; Fan, X (2009). "The impacts of country risk and cultural distance on transnational equity investments". Chinese Management Studies. 3 (3): 235–248.
  42. ^ Christelis, D; Georgarakos, D (2013). "Investing at Home and Abroad: Different Costs, Different People?". Journal of Banking and Finance. 37: 2069–2086.
  43. ^ Ramadan, Z (2012). "The Validity of the Arbitrage Pricing Theory in the Jordanian Stock Market". International Journal of Economics and Finance. 4 (5): 177.
  44. ^ Isenmila, A; Erah, O (2012). "Share prices and macroeconomic factors: A test of the arbitrage pricing theory (APT) in the Nigerian stock market". European Journal of Business and Management. 4 (15): 66–76.
  45. ^ Jecheche, P (2012). "An empirical investigation of Arbitrage Pricing Theory: A case Zimbabwe". Research in Business & Economics Journal. 6 (1): 1.
  46. ^ Basu, D; Chawla, D (2012). "An Empirical Test of the Arbitrage Pricing Theory—The Case of Indian Stock Market". Global Business Review. 13 (3): 421–432.
  47. ^ GeambaŞu, C; Jianu, I; Herteliu, C (2014). "Macroeconomic Influence on Shares' Return Study Case: Arbitrage Pricing Theory (APT) Applied on Bucharest Stock Exchange". Economic Computation and Economic Cybernetics Studies and Research. 48 (2): 133–150. {{cite journal}}: Unknown parameter |First4= ignored (|first4= suggested) (help); Unknown parameter |Last4= ignored (|last4= suggested) (help)

Journals

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