Modernization and Variations in Emancipative Values in European Societies in 1995-2008: Test of Inglehart's Socialization Hypothesis

Abstract

This paper reveals variations in value change (namely the substitution of materialist priorities for post-materialist) in Europe, and substantiates that post-socialist societies follow a similar path of development to advanced Western Europe. The linear decomposition analysis showed that Inglehart’s socialization hypothesis (Inglehart 1990), which is related to a fundamental emancipative shift in values, was true for both selected West European and East European countries with minor exceptions. However, the study demonstrates that the observed variability in value change in different countries in Europe is due to specific country-level contextual effects and not population turnover. This finding confronts the assumption of exclusiveness of socialization against historical period in forming value orientations.

Keywords: modernization, values, socialization hypothesis, decomposition, social change, Eastern Europe

JEL Classification: Z19