THEORETICAL APPROACHES TO THE IMPACT OF CULTURE ON THE ECONOMY THROUGH THE PRISM OF THE EUROPEAN COURSE OF THE COUNTRIES’ DEVELOPMENT

Abstract

This paper tries to synthesize the history of economic thinking regarding the correlation between culture and the economic development during the last centuries. The use of culture to explain the economic performance has not been popular among social science researchers in recent decades. Most economic models are based on the idea that people are essentially rational beings and make decisions in their own interest. What people choose to do depends on their beliefs. But culture can give rise to a set of rational beliefs. In economic history, some economists have questioned the classic concept of the „rational economic man” mentioning the increasing role of non-economic behavior in modern economies. These two positions can be reconciled if we reduce the social norms that govern entire societies based on the actions of individuals who look out for their own interests. Regardless of which models of economic thinking a historical retrospective is based on, an important conclusion is that throughout history, social and cultural factors have been among the important catalysts of the economic life. In the paper, it is argued that some factors such as European culture and European political traditions, etc., have an essential contribution to the economic success of those countries that follow them.

Keywords

• rational beliefs
• culture
• non-economic behavior
• european traditions
• economic success