ESSAYS ON CULTURAL DIVERSITY AND ECONOMICS

The idea that culture is a determinant of economic outcomes has regained in recent economic literature its full recognition. In this perspective, this analysis aims at discussing the impact of cultural diversity on economic outcomes and disentangling the mechanisms through which economic forces of globalization (trade, migration and capital flows) interplay with local cultural identities. Note that the analysis has a specific geographical focus, i.e.: European countries. The choice of Europe as target of the analysis depends on two main considerations: cultural issues are particularly important for the socio-economic success of European Union and cultural diversity is a funding element of Europe. Culture and cultural diversity are thus two important elements of European societies, but why should they matter in an economic perspective? The analysis that follows gives three main answers to this question. First of all, some of our economic choices and actions as consumers can have important fallouts on cultural diversity and on the possibility of cohabitation of different cultures. Secondly, some economic phenomena can have a cultural content, such as trade in cultural goods. For this reason they can become a vehicle for intercultural exchange, fostering tolerance towards immigrants and easing the success of multicultural societies. Finally, different local cultural identities can act as a filter for economic phenomena such as foreign investments, magnifying or destroying the growth enhancing effect of economic globalization. These three explanations are discussed and analyzed in the three chapters of the thesis.