On the Joint Evolution of Culture and Institutions: Elites and Civil Society
In this paper we provide an abstract modeling of the interaction between culture and institutions and their effects on economic variables of interest, notably, e.g., long-run economic activity. We characterize conditions on the socio-economic environment such that culture and institutions complement (resp. substitute) each other, giving rise to a multiplier effect which amplifies (resp. dampens) their combined ability to spur socio-economic activity. We show how the joint dynamics of culture and institutions may display interesting non-ergodic behavior, hysteresis, oscillations, depending on the form of the interaction between culture and institutions. The model can be specialized to study the political economy of elites and civil society for the determination of long-run socio-economic activity in different contexts. We illustrate this by studying the transition away from extractive institutions and the formation of civic capital in two example societies.
Date: 25 February 2022, 14:15 (Friday, 6th week, Hilary 2022)
Venue: Seminar Room C or Join Zoom https://zoom.us/j/91802954429
Speaker: Alberto Bisin (New York University)
Organising department: Department of Economics
Part of: Nuffield Economic Theory Seminar
Booking required?: Not required
Audience: Members of the University only
Editor: Emma Heritage