The Economic Incentives of Cultural Transmission: Spatial Evidence from Naming Patterns Across France.

Authors
  • ALGAN Yann
  • MALGOUYRES Clement
  • MAYER Thierry
  • THOENIG Mathias
Publication date
2021
Publication type
Journal Article
Summary This paper studies how economic incentives influence cultural transmission, using a crucial expression of cultural identity: Child naming decisions. Our focus is on Arabic versus Non-Arabic names given in France over the 2003-2007 period. Our model of cultural transmission features three determinants: (i) vertical (parental) cultural transmission culture. (ii) horizontal (neighborhood) influence. (iii) information on the economic penalty associated with Arabic names. We find that economic incentives largely influence naming choices: Would the parental expectation on the economic penalty be zero, the annual number of babies born with an Arabic name would be more than 50 percent larger.
Publisher
Oxford University Press (OUP)
Topics of the publication
Themes detected by scanR from retrieved publications. For more information, see https://scanr.enseignementsup-recherche.gouv.fr