Econ Papers Daily / 期刊论文
发展障碍中的文化通道
Cultural doorways in the barriers to development
摘要
We develop novel indices of cultural similarity among ethnic groups derived from their oral traditions. We find that variation in these indices significantly affects currently observed pairwise disparities in income per capita, even after controlling for measures of geo-climatic, historical, religious, and linguistic barriers. We also propose an empirical exploration of the mechanisms linking folklore similarities to income differences. These findings lend support to the relevance of knowledge, information and technological transfers across people and societies in the diffusion of development.
中文摘要
我们基于各民族口头传统构建了文化相似性的新指数。研究发现，这些指数的差异显著影响当前观察到的两两之间的人均收入差距，即便在控制了地理气候、历史、宗教及语言障碍等因素后依然如此。我们还提出了一种实证探索，用以考察民俗相似性与收入差异之间的关联机制。这些发现支持了知识、信息和技术在人群与社会间传播对发展扩散的重要性。