The Volatility of Survey Measures of Culture and its Consequences

32 Pages Posted: 10 Nov 2019 Last revised: 15 Nov 2024

Abstract

Common measures of cultural attitudes, such as those constructed from the World Values Survey, are characterized by substantial within-country volatility. This volatility is at odds with the notion of culture adopted in economics: a set of slow-moving traits that determine preferences and expectations transmitted from one generation to the next via family or social interactions. The insufficient persistence of survey proxies for such traits may compromise empirical studies of culture as a determinant of economic outcomes. We illustrate this point via a thorough replication, using the most recent WVS waves, of analyses carried out previously for regions in Europe.

Keywords: culture, World Values Survey, development

JEL Classification: O12, O43, Z1

Suggested Citation

Zanella, Giulio and Bellani, Marina, The Volatility of Survey Measures of Culture and its Consequences. IZA Discussion Paper No. 12730, Available at SSRN: https://ssrn.com/abstract=3483968

Giulio Zanella (Contact Author)

University of Bologna ( email )

Piazza Scaravilli 2
Bologna, 40100
Italy

Marina Bellani

Independent ( email )

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