×

Cultural leader and the dynamics of assimilation. (English) Zbl 1422.91599

Summary: This paper studies the population dynamics of cultural traits in a model of intergenerational cultural transmission with a perfectly-forward looking cultural leader. We show that there exists a threshold size in terms of population above which the cultural leader becomes active. We also show that a policy affecting some key parameters (such as the cost of providing the religious good) has a different impact in the short run and in the long run due to over-reactions or under-reactions of the different cultural groups. Finally, we study the cultural competition between two forward-looking cultural leaders with opposite objectives. We show that the steady-state cultural equilibrium depends on the time preference structure of the two leaders.

MSC:

91D10 Models of societies, social and urban evolution
91D20 Mathematical geography and demography
PDFBibTeX XMLCite
Full Text: DOI

References:

[1] Ainsworth-Darnell, J. W.; Downey, D. B., Assessing the oppositional culture explanation for racial/ethnic differences in school performance, Am. Sociol. Rev., 63, 536-553 (1998)
[2] Akerlof, G. A.; Kranton, R. E., Identity Economics: How Our Identities Shape Our Work, Wages, and Well-Being (2010), Princeton University Press: Princeton University Press Princeton
[3] Alba, R. D., Ethnic Identity: The Transformation of White America (1990), Yale University Press: Yale University Press New Haven
[4] Alesina, A.; Reich, B., Nation Building (2015), NBER Working Paper No. 18839
[5] Almagro, M., Andres, D., 2017. The construction of national identities. New York University. Unpublished manuscript.; Almagro, M., Andres, D., 2017. The construction of national identities. New York University. Unpublished manuscript.
[6] Austen-Smith, D.; Fryer, R. D., An economic analysis of ‘acting white’, Q. J. Econ., 120, 551-583 (2005)
[7] Battu, H.; Zenou, Y., Oppositional identities and employment for ethnic minorities. Evidence for England, Econ. J., 120, 52-71 (2010)
[8] Berman, E., Sect, subsidy, and sacrifice: an economist’s view of ultra-orthodox jews, Q. J. Econ., 115, 905-953 (2000)
[9] Bernal, M. E.; Knight, G. P., Ethnic Identity: Formation and Transmission among Hispanics and Other Minorities (1993), State University of New York Press: State University of New York Press Albany
[10] Bisin, A.; Patacchini, E.; Verdier, T.; Zenou, Y., Are Muslim immigrants different in terms of cultural integration?, J. Eur. Econ. Assoc., 6, 445-456 (2008)
[11] Bisin, A.; Patacchini, E.; Verdier, T.; Zenou, Y., Formation and persistence of oppositional identities, Eur. Econ. Rev., 55, 1046-1071 (2011)
[12] Bisin, A.; Patacchini, E.; Verdier, T.; Zenou, Y., Bend it like Beckham. Ethnic identity and integration, Eur. Econ. Rev., 90, 146-164 (2016)
[13] Bisin, A.; Verdier, T., Beyond the melting pot: cultural transmission, marriage, and the evolution of ethnic and religious traits, Q. J. Econ., 115, 955-988 (2000)
[14] Bisin, A.; Verdier, T., The economics of cultural transmission and the dynamics of preferences, J. Econ. Theory, 97, 298-319 (2001) · Zbl 0991.91060
[15] Bisin, A.; Verdier, T., The economics of cultural transmission and socialization, (Benhabib, J.; Bisin, A.; Jackson, M. O., Handbook of Social Economics (2011), Elsevier Science: Elsevier Science Amsterdam), 339-416
[16] Boyd, R.; Richerson, P., Culture and the Evolutionary Process (1985), University of Chicago Press: University of Chicago Press Chicago
[17] Carvalho, J.-P., Sacrifice and sorting in clubs, Forum Soc. Econ. (2018), Forthcoming
[18] Carvalho, J.-P.; Koyama, M., Jewish emancipation and schism: economic development and religious change, J. Comp. Econ., 44, 562-584 (2016)
[19] Cavalli-Sforza, L.; Feldman, M., Cultural Transmission and Evolution. A Quantitative Approach (1981), Princeton University Press: Princeton University Press Princeton
[20] Constant, A.; Zimmermann, K. F., Measuring ethnic identity and its impact on economic behavior, J. Eur. Econ. Assoc., 6, 424-433 (2008)
[21] Fordham, S.; Ogbu, J. U., Black students’ school success: coping with the burden of acting white, Urban Rev., 18, 176-206 (1986)
[22] Fryer, R. G.; Torelli, P., An empirical analysis of ‘acting white’, J. Public Econ., 94, 380-396 (2010)
[23] Hauk, E.; Mueller, H., Cultural leaders and the clash of civilizations, J. Confl. Resolut., 59, 367-400 (2015)
[24] Iannaccone, L., Sacrifice and stigma: reducing free-riding in cults, communes, and other collectives, J. Polit. Econ., 100, 271-297 (1992)
[25] Nielsen, R., 2012. Jihadi Radicalization of Muslim Clerics. Department of Government, Harvard University. Unpublished manuscript.; Nielsen, R., 2012. Jihadi Radicalization of Muslim Clerics. Department of Government, Harvard University. Unpublished manuscript.
[26] Nteta, T. M.; Wallsten, K. J., Preaching to the choir? Religious leaders and American opinion on immigration reform, Soc. Sci. Q., 93, 891-910 (2012)
[27] Panebianco, F., Socialization networks and the transmission of interethnic attitudes, J. Econ. Theory, 150, 583-610 (2014) · Zbl 1293.91166
[28] Patacchini, E.; Zenou, Y., Racial identity and education, Soc. Netw., 44, 85-94 (2016)
[29] Phinney, J. S., Ethnic identity in adolescents and adults: review of research, Psychol. Bull., 108, 499-514 (1990)
[30] Prummer, A.; Siedlarek, J.-P., Community leaders and the preservation of cultural traits, J. Econ. Theory, 168, 143-176 (2017) · Zbl 1400.91485
[31] Spence, M.; Starrett, D., Most rapid approach paths in accumulation problems, Int. Econ. Rev., 16, 388-403 (1975) · Zbl 0316.90009
[32] Verdier, T.; Zenou, Y., The role of cultural leaders in the transmission of preferences, Econ. Lett., 136, 158-161 (2015) · Zbl 1396.91119
[33] Yükleyen, A.; Yurdakul, G., Islamic activism and immigrant integration: Turkish organizations in Germany, (Immigrants and Minorities. Immigrants and Minorities, Historical Studies in Ethnicity, Migration and Diaspora, vol. 29 (2011)), 64-85
[34] Yurdakul, G.; Yükleyen, A., Islam, conflict, and integration: Turkish religious associations in Germany, Turkish Stud., 10, 217-231 (2009)
This reference list is based on information provided by the publisher or from digital mathematics libraries. Its items are heuristically matched to zbMATH identifiers and may contain data conversion errors. In some cases that data have been complemented/enhanced by data from zbMATH Open. This attempts to reflect the references listed in the original paper as accurately as possible without claiming completeness or a perfect matching.