Royal Society Open Science (Feb 2020)

Cultural prerequisites of socioeconomic development

  • Damian J. Ruck,
  • R. Alexander Bentley,
  • Daniel J. Lawson

DOI
https://doi.org/10.1098/rsos.190725
Journal volume & issue
Vol. 7, no. 2

Abstract

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In the centuries since the enlightenment, the world has seen an increase in socioeconomic development, measured as increased life expectancy, education, economic development and democracy. While the co-occurrence of these features among nations is well documented, little is known about their origins or co-evolution. Here, we compare this growth of prosperity in nations to the historical record of cultural values in the twentieth century, derived from global survey data. We find that two cultural factors, secular-rationality and cosmopolitanism, predict future increases in GDP per capita, democratization and secondary education enrollment. The converse is not true, however, which indicates that secular-rationality and cosmopolitanism are among the preconditions for socioeconomic development to emerge.

Keywords