Working Paper: CEPR ID: DP13024
Authors: Marianne Bertrand; Emir Kamenica
Abstract: We analyze temporal trends in cultural distance between groups in the US defi ned by income, education, gender, race, and political ideology. We measure cultural distance between two groups as the ability to infer an individual's group based on his or her (i) media consumption,(ii) consumer behavior, (iii) time use, or (iv) social attitudes. Gender difference in time use decreased between 1965 and 1995 and has remained constant since. Differences in social attitudes by political ideology and income have increased over the last four decades. Whites and non-whites have converged somewhat on attitudes but have diverged in consumer behavior. For all other demographic divisions and cultural dimensions, cultural distance has been broadly constant over time.
Keywords: Cultural distance; Income; Education; Gender; Race; Political ideology
JEL Codes: No JEL codes provided
Edges that are evidenced by causal inference methods are in orange, and the rest are in light blue.
| Cause | Effect |
|---|---|
| gender differences in time use (D13) | time use patterns (J29) |
| social changes (J62) | time use patterns (J29) |
| differences in social attitudes by political ideology and income (P36) | cultural perspectives (Z10) |
| whites and non-whites convergence in social attitudes (J79) | divergence in consumer behavior (D16) |
| cultural distance (Z10) | cultural behaviors (Z13) |