The economics of cultural transmission and the dynamics of preferences

成果类型:
Article
署名作者:
Bisin, A; Verdier, T
署名单位:
New York University; Universite PSL; Ecole Normale Superieure (ENS)
刊物名称:
JOURNAL OF ECONOMIC THEORY
ISSN/ISSBN:
0022-0531
DOI:
10.1006/jeth.2000.2678
发表日期:
2001
页码:
298-319
关键词:
摘要:
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 carious 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. (C) 2001 Academic Press.