Preferences as human capital: rational choice theories of endogenous preferences and socioeconomic changes

We discuss the theoretical and empirical foundations of modern economic theories of cultural transmission. The importance of cultural factors in shaping economic and social transformations has been the focus of a long-standing debate in social sciences since the XIXth Century. Neoclassical economics...

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Bibliographic Details
Published in:Finnish Economic Papers 2008-10, Vol.21 (2), p.81-94
Main Authors: Saez-Marti, Maria, Zilibotti, Fabrizio
Format: Article
Language:English
Subjects:
Corruption
Cultural differences
Cultural factors
Cultural heritage
Cultural transmission
Economic models
Economic theory
Economists
Education
Jewish people
Literacy
Polls & surveys
Preferences
Protestantism
Religion
Social change
Social sciences
Society
Socioeconomic factors
Spirituality
Success
Transfer
Trust
Welfare
Work ethic
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Summary:We discuss the theoretical and empirical foundations of modern economic theories of cultural transmission. The importance of cultural factors in shaping economic and social transformations has been the focus of a long-standing debate in social sciences since the XIXth Century. Neoclassical economics has remained at the marging of this debate. However, there has been a recent surge of interest among economists for cultural factors. The economic models of cultural transmission borrow the main ideas from the anthropological literature, but endogeneize the efforts parents exert to transmit specific cultural variants or preference parameters. We distinguish between paternalistic models where parents use their own values to evaluate their children 's utility, and non-paternalistic or utilitarian models in which parents choose their children 's preferences to maximize the children 's well-being. We discuss recent examples, focusing in particular on corruption, patience, and work ethic. (JEL: D11, D64, 120, J13, N13, 0 12, Z13) Reprinted by permission of Finnish Society for Economic Research
ISSN:0784-5197
1798-7423