Cultural integration and its discontents

• 成果类型: Article
• 署名作者: Kuran, Timur; Sandholm, William H.
• 署名单位: Duke University; University of Wisconsin System; University of Wisconsin Madison
• 刊物名称: REVIEW OF ECONOMIC STUDIES
• ISSN/ISSBN: 0034-6527
• DOI: 10.1111/j.1467-937X.2007.00469.x
• 发表日期: 2008
• 页码: 201-228
• 关键词: evolutionary approach; Preference evolution; ECONOMICS; DYNAMICS; transmission; dissonance

摘要

A community's culture is defined by the preferences and equilibrium behaviours of its members. Contacts among communities alter individual cultures through two interrelated mechanisms: behavioural adaptations driven by pay-offs to coordination, and preference changes shaped by socialization and self-persuasion. This paper explores the workings of these mechanisms through a model of cultural integration in which preferences and behaviours vary continuously. It identifies a broad set of conditions under which cross-cultural contacts promote cultural hybridization. The analysis suggests that policies to support social integration serve to homogenize preferences across communities, thereby undermining a key objective of multiculturalism. Yielding fresh insights into strategies pursued to influence cultural trends, it also shows that communities benefit from having other communities adjust their behaviours.