Cultural Catalysts of Inclusive Growth in the European Union – A Causal Perspective

Anchored in the complex European economic integration context, this paper aims at investigating the connections between national cultural dimensions and inclusive growth, having the express objective of identifying those cultural dimensions that exert a potential causal influence on the chosen dependent variable and to generate relevant conclusions that may serve as inputs in the process of public policy design and implementation. Employing a quantitative methodological approach, the study uses data resulting from two cultural models (one the result of the research of Hofstede and his collaborators and the other one the result of the research of Schwartz) and the World Economic Forum’s Inclusive Growth and Development Report 2017, finding evidence supporting a potential causal effect of the Hofstedian cultural dimension of indulgence, while discarding the hypotheses related to the relationships between inclusive growth and the other national cultural dimensions pertaining to the two considered models. This result is important especially in the context of ensuring culturally adapted public policy design and implementation processes, that would increase policy effectiveness and efficiency.