How voters’ cultural traits influence government institutions and public policy
How do values and beliefs influence the way government institutions operate? What can be done to encourage economic development and improve the way institutions work when there is a lack of social capital? What are the key instruments driving cultural transmission and how do they interplay with the outer environment. These are questions the EU-funded project INSTITUTIONS (How do values influence the functioning of institutions and the effects of policies?) sought to answer. Both theoretical and empirical settings were used with different data sets. The effects and determinants of transfers from central to local governments in Brazil and Italy were studied using empirical analysis. Results showed that Italian voters located in districts with more solid traditions of civic engagement are more likely to punish misbehaviour. Additionally, it was proven that nepotism is more diffuse in localities with low civic capital. Furthermore, in studying the effects and determinants of transfers from central to local governments in Brazil and Italy, results showed that larger public transfers are linked to more corruption and criminal behaviour. Findings indicate that public transfers can be especially damaging to poor localities as they can worsen the lack of civic capital which is the source of under-development. The information is useful for a variety of disciplines spanning the areas of social sciences, the humanities and economics.
Keywords
Values, beliefs, government institutions, economic development, social capital, cultural transmission, local governments, civic engagement
