Working Paper: NBER ID: w26699
Authors: Oded Galor; Mer Zak; Assaf Sarid
Abstract: This research establishes the influence of linguistic traits on human behavior. Exploiting variations in the languages spoken by children of migrants with identical ancestral countries of origin, the analysis indicates that the presence of periphrastic future tense, and its association with long-term orientation has a significant positive impact on educational attainment, whereas the presence of sex-based grammatical gender, and its association with gender bias, has a significant adverse impact on female educational attainment.
Keywords: human capital; long-term orientation; gender bias; periphrastic future tense; sex-based grammatical gender; culture; language
JEL Codes: D91; I25; J16; J24; Z10; Z13
Edges that are evidenced by causal inference methods are in orange, and the rest are in light blue.
| Cause | Effect |
|---|---|
| Presence of periphrastic future tense (D84) | Probability of college attendance among children of migrants (J69) |
| Presence of sex-based grammatical gender (J16) | Probability of female college attendance (D29) |
| Linguistic traits (Z13) | Educational outcomes (I21) |
| Ancestral characteristics (B15) | Linguistic traits (Z13) |
| Cultural persistence (Z10) | Educational outcomes (I21) |