Working Paper: CEPR ID: DP9416
Authors: Yann Algan; Clément Malgouyres; Thierry Mayer; Mathias Thoenig
Abstract: This paper studies how economic incentives influence cultural transmission, using a crucial expression of cultural identity: Child naming decisions. Our focus is on Arabic versus Non-Arabic names given in France over the 2003-2007 period. Our model of cultural transmission features three determinants: (i) vertical (parental) cultural transmission culture; (ii) horizontal (neighborhood) influence; (iii) information on the economic penalty associated with Arabic names. We find that economic incentives largely influence naming choices: Would the parental expectation on the economic penalty be zero, the annual number of babies born with an Arabic name would be more than 50 percent larger.
Keywords: cultural economics; cultural transmission; first names; social interactions
JEL Codes: Z1; J3
Edges that are evidenced by causal inference methods are in orange, and the rest are in light blue.
| Cause | Effect |
|---|---|
| Economic factors (P42) | naming choices (G11) |
| Expectation of economic penalty associated with Arabic names (J15) | probability of choosing Arabic names (C25) |
| Parents or grandparents of Arabic-Muslim background (J12) | likelihood of giving an Arabic name (J15) |
| Having a parent with an Arabic name (J12) | probability of giving an Arabic name (J15) |
| Vertical transmission of an Arabic name (F24) | utility equivalent to increase in child's lifetime income (J17) |