Working Paper: CEPR ID: DP7405
Authors: Beatrix Brügger; Rafael Lalive; Josef Zweimüller
Abstract: This paper studies the role of culture in shaping unemployment outcomes. The empirical analysis is based on local comparisons across a language barrier in Switzerland. This Röstigraben seperates cultural groups, but neither labor markets nor political jurisdictions. Local contrasts across the language border identify the role of culture for unemployment. Our findings indicate that differences in culture explain differences in unemployment duration on the order of 20 %. Moreover, we find that horizontal transmission of culture is more important than vertical transmission of culture and that culture is about as important as strong changes to the benefit duration.
Keywords: Cultural Transmission; Culture; Regional Unemployment; Unemployment Duration
JEL Codes: J21; J64; Z10
Edges that are evidenced by causal inference methods are in orange, and the rest are in light blue.
| Cause | Effect |
|---|---|
| Culture (Z00) | Unemployment Outcomes (J68) |
| Latin-speaking Communities (N96) | Longer Unemployment Durations (J64) |
| Cultural Attitudes Towards Work (J29) | Job Search Behavior (J29) |
| Job Search Behavior (J29) | Unemployment Duration (J64) |
| Horizontal Transmission of Cultural Values (Z13) | Unemployment Duration (J64) |
| Vertical Transmission of Cultural Values (Z13) | Unemployment Duration (J64) |