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Cultural Economics (ECO-AD-CULTURECO)

ECO-AD-CULTURECO

Purpose

Course description
Culture has received increasing attention from economists since the early 2000s, building on longer-standing traditions in other social sciences, including psychology, anthropology, sociology, history, and political science. This course provides an introduction to the field of cultural economics, its empirical methods within economics, and the overlap with other disciplines. We will study both seminal and frontier research to understand how culture is defined, measured, and identified in causal terms, with a specific focus on three key topics: families and gender, nation building, and religion.

Note: the syllabus is tentative and may be subject to modifications.

Course evaluation
Students will present a published paper in class and write a referee report on a working paper, chosen from lists provided at the beginning of the course.

1 Introduction: What is culture and how is it formed?
Topics: culture/institutions, culture and preferences, social capital
• Alesina, A. & Giuliano, P. (2015). Culture and institutions. Journal of Economic Literature, 53(4), 898–944.
• Tabellini, G. (2010). Culture and Institutions: Economic Development in the Regions of Europe. Journal of the European Economic Association, 8(4), 677–716. DOI
• Fehr, E. & Hoff, K. (2011). Introduction: Tastes, Castes and Culture: The Influence of Society on Preferences. Economic Journal, 121, F396–F412.
• Nunn, N. & Wantchekon, L. (2011). The Slave Trade and the Origins of Mistrust in Africa. American Economic Review, 101(7), 3221–3252.
• Bisin, A. & Verdier, T. (2000). Beyond the Melting Pot: Cultural Transmission, Marriage, and the Evolution of Ethnic and Religious Traits. Quarterly Journal of Economics, 955–990.


2 Families and Gender
Topics: agriculture and the origins of family and gender norms; the European Marriage Pattern and family systems.
• Giuliano, P. (2007). Living Arrangements in Western Europe: Does Cultural Origin Matter? Journal of the European Economic Association, 5, 927–952.
• Alesina, A. & Giuliano, P. (2010). The power of the family. Journal of Economic Growth, 15(2), 93–125.
• Alesina, A., Giuliano, P. & Nunn, N. (2013). On the Origins of Gender Roles: Women and the Plough. Quarterly Journal of Economics, 128(2), 469–530.
• Carmichael, S. G., De Pleijt, A., Van Zanden, J. L. & De Moor, T. (2016). The European marriage pattern and its measurement. Journal of Economic History, 76(1), 196–204.
• Fern´andez, R. & Fogli, A. (2009). Culture: An empirical investigation of beliefs, work, and fertility. American Economic Journal: Macroeconomics, 1(1), 146–177.
• La Ferrara, E. & Milazzo, A. (2017). Customary norms, inheritance, and human capital: Evidence from a reform of the matrilineal system in Ghana. American Economic Journal:
Applied Economics, 9(4), 166–185.

3 Nation Building
Topics: migrations and integration; identity, in-group and out-group.
• Rohner, D. & Zhuravskaya, E. (2024). The Economics of Nation-Building: Methodological Tool Kit and Policy Lessons. Annual Review of Economics, 17. [Review]
• Bazzi, S., Gaduh, A., Rothenberg, A. D. & Wong, M. (2019). Unity in diversity? How intergroup contact can foster nation building. American Economic Review, 109(11), 3978–4025.
• Bazzi, S., Fiszbein, M. & Gebresilasse, M. (2020). Frontier culture: The roots and persistence of “rugged individualism” in the United States. Econometrica, 88(6), 2329–2368.
• Gagliarducci, S. & Tabellini, M. (2025). Faith and Assimilation: Italian Immigrants in the U.S. Economic Journal, 135(670), 1814–1851.

4 Religion
Topics: from classic sociological theories to market-oriented ones; religion and human capital; measuring religiosity
• Becker, S. O., Rubin, J. & Woessmann, L. (2024). Religion and growth. Journal of Economic Literature, 62(3), 1094–1142. [Review]
• Finke, R. & Iannaccone, L. R. (1993). Supply-side explanations for religious change. Annals of the American Academy of Political and Social Science, 527(1), 27–39.
• Squicciarini, M. P. (2020). Devotion and development: Religiosity, education, and economic progress in nineteenth-century France. American Economic Review, 110(11), 3454–3491.
  ENROL FOR THIS COURSE