Cultural Differences and Institutional Integration

If citizens of different countries belonging to an economic union adhere to different and deeply rooted cultural norms, when these countries interact they may find it impossible to agree on efficient policies, especially in hard times. Political leaders are bound to follow policies that do not violate their country's cultural norms. This paper provides a simple positive theory and a compelling case study of the Euro area crisis to highlight the importance of cultural clashes when economies integrate. We also provide a normative argument about the desirability of institutional integration: a political union, with a common enforcement agency, is the more beneficial the greater is cultural diversity in an economic union.