ارزش نمادین، انتخاب شغلی، و توسعه اقتصادی

Channeling human resources into occupations with high social productivity has historically been a key to economic prosperity. Occupational choices are not only driven by the material rewards associated with the various occupations, but also driven by the esteem that they confer. We propose a model of endogenous growth in which occupations carry a symbolic value that makes them more or less attractive; the evolution of symbolic values is endogenously determined by purposive transmission of value systems within families. The model sheds light on the interaction between cultural and economic development and identifies circumstances under which value systems matter for long-run growth. It shows the possibility of culturally determined poverty traps and offers a framework for thinking about the transition from traditional to modern values.

Economic take-offs are often accompanied by pervasive changes in the values endorsed by people. For example, in western Europe the transition from a feudal to a capitalistic mode of production was accompanied by a transition from traditional to modern values; whereas the former emphasize land possession, religion, and combat skill, the latter praise work, education, and economic achievement. Also in the decades after World War II, considerable changes in values have been documented in rapidly growing economies such as the US, Japan, and western Europe.1 The concomitance of value change and economic development raises a fundamental question of causation. Scholarly views range from the culturalist one, according to which values are the engine of economic growth, to the materialistic one, which confers that role to technology and interprets value change as a mechanical adjustment. Far from being merely academic, the issue of the interplay of culture and economic performance has profound policy implications. In some areas of the world, mass poverty goes hand in hand with values and norms that are hostile to entrepreneurship and technical progress. Culture may or may not be a crucial factor behind the failure of development policies in countries caught in a poverty trap. If values do cause development, assessing their “malleability” could make an important contribution to the design of successful policies.2

The endogenous growth model developed in this paper offers a simple theoretical framework to highlight the interaction between economic development and value systems. People's economic activity typically results from the deliberate choice to practice a distinctive occupation, often for the entire duration of one's economically active life. For most people, work is one defining element of the self, not simply because a large fraction of one's lifetime is absorbed by work but also because it is largely through work that a person expresses her individuality. Therefore, economic activity is a central category for defining one's identity and a natural object of value judgements. Our model explores the economic implications of the idea that people can invest in the value of occupations, i.e., they can influence their children's evaluations of occupations. Specifically, we have analyzed the evolution of value systems that arises when parents select them so as to maximize their children's expected utility. In our framework, economic variables and value systems mutually affect each other. On the one hand, the path of income opportunities associated with the various occupations affects the values transmitted by parents to children. On the other hand, both one's acquired values and others’ evaluations of occupations affect one's choice of economic activity; in this way, value systems affect the structure of the economy and its development.