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Culture, institutions and the industrialization process

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  • Touré, Nouhoum

Abstract

We propose a general equilibrium model where culture and institutions coevolve with the industrialization process. Institutions are defined as the balance of power between two social classes: workers and elites. Within the elite, there are two cultural groups: entrepreneurs and nonentrepreneurs, with culture defined as the proportion of each group. The evolution of both culture and institutions feeds back with the scope of industrialization. This mutual interplay may lead to multiple equilibria. In particular, an economy in which the entrepreneurial culture is not widespread and/or workers have little power may become trapped in a preindustrial regime. A positive productivity shock makes it possible to leave this equilibrium and generate a democratization movement. Nevertheless, depending on the initial conditions, this movement may or may not be followed by the cultural transformations that are required for industrialization. Finally, we discuss England’s industrialization experiences in light of our results.

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  • Touré, Nouhoum, 2021. "Culture, institutions and the industrialization process," Journal of Economic Behavior & Organization, Elsevier, vol. 186(C), pages 481-503.
  • Handle: RePEc:eee:jeborg:v:186:y:2021:i:c:p:481-503
    DOI: 10.1016/j.jebo.2021.04.020
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    1. Nadia von Jacobi & Vito Amendolagine, 2021. "What Feeds on What? Networks of Interdependencies between Culture and Institutions," DEM Working Papers 2021/13, Department of Economics and Management.
    2. Nadia von Jacobi & Vito Amendolagine, 2022. "What Feeds on What? Networks of Interdependencies between Culture and Institutions," Working Papers 11, SITES.

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    More about this item

    Keywords

    Culture; Institutions; Industrialization; Process of development;
    All these keywords.

    JEL classification:

    • O11 - Economic Development, Innovation, Technological Change, and Growth - - Economic Development - - - Macroeconomic Analyses of Economic Development
    • O14 - Economic Development, Innovation, Technological Change, and Growth - - Economic Development - - - Industrialization; Manufacturing and Service Industries; Choice of Technology
    • O43 - Economic Development, Innovation, Technological Change, and Growth - - Economic Growth and Aggregate Productivity - - - Institutions and Growth
    • O57 - Economic Development, Innovation, Technological Change, and Growth - - Economywide Country Studies - - - Comparative Studies of Countries
    • Z10 - Other Special Topics - - Cultural Economics - - - General

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