The economics of cultural transmission and the dynamics of preferences
The economics of cultural transmission and the dynamics of preferences
This paper studies the population dynamics of preference traits in a model of intergenerational cultural transmission. Parents socialize and transmit their preferences to their offspring, motivated by a form of paternalistic altruism ("imperfect empathy"). In such a setting we study the long run stationary state pattern of preferences in the population, according to various socialization mechanisms and institutions, and identify sufficient conditions for the global stability of an heterogenous stationary distribution of the preference traits. We show that cultural transmission mechanisms have very different implications than evolutionary selection mechanisms with respect to the dynamics of the distribution of the traits in the population, and we study mechanisms which interact evolutionary selection and cultural transmission.
298-319
Verdier, Thierry
87c483ea-f473-408f-9776-d0381cab6454
Bisin, Alberto
0c6bf792-b31f-4b6a-a048-04d97b05a6b6
2001
Verdier, Thierry
87c483ea-f473-408f-9776-d0381cab6454
Bisin, Alberto
0c6bf792-b31f-4b6a-a048-04d97b05a6b6
Verdier, Thierry and Bisin, Alberto
(2001)
The economics of cultural transmission and the dynamics of preferences.
Journal of Economic Theory, 97 (2), .
(doi:10.1006/jeth.2000.2678).
Abstract
This paper studies the population dynamics of preference traits in a model of intergenerational cultural transmission. Parents socialize and transmit their preferences to their offspring, motivated by a form of paternalistic altruism ("imperfect empathy"). In such a setting we study the long run stationary state pattern of preferences in the population, according to various socialization mechanisms and institutions, and identify sufficient conditions for the global stability of an heterogenous stationary distribution of the preference traits. We show that cultural transmission mechanisms have very different implications than evolutionary selection mechanisms with respect to the dynamics of the distribution of the traits in the population, and we study mechanisms which interact evolutionary selection and cultural transmission.
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Published date: 2001
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Local EPrints ID: 33480
URI: http://eprints.soton.ac.uk/id/eprint/33480
ISSN: 0022-0531
PURE UUID: e7a63308-2751-438d-8f0a-d7d86a738454
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Date deposited: 16 May 2006
Last modified: 15 Mar 2024 07:44
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Author:
Thierry Verdier
Author:
Alberto Bisin
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