Individualistic culture increases economic mobility in the United States
Individualistic culture increases economic mobility in the United States
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DOI：
10.1073/pnas.2107273118
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发表时间：
2021-09-14
影响因子：
11.1
通讯作者：
Smith, Steven M.
中科院分区：
文献类型：
--
作者：
Leonard, Bryan;Smith, Steven M.
个人成长的地方对其长期经济成果具有重大影响，包括收入和代际流动性。即使在美国境内，“地点的因果效应”差异也很大，并且不能完全用社会经济条件来解释。在不同国家，增长和流动性的差异与更加个人主义的文化有关。我们评估美国内部历史驱动的个人主义的变化如何影响流动性。 19世纪美国那些在边境上长期与世隔绝的地区有着更强烈的“粗犷的个人主义”文化[S. Bazzi, M. Fiszbein, M. Gebresilasse, 计量经济学 88, 2329-2368 (2020)]。我们将边境经验的县级衡量标准与地点对流动性的因果影响的现代衡量标准结合起来——与在特定县“成长”相关的个人 26 岁时收入的预测百分比变化[R.切蒂，N.亨德伦，Q.J.经济。 133, 1163-1228 (2018)]。利用通勤区固定效应和一系列县级控制来吸收边境经验和现代经济条件的地区差异，我们发现，额外十年的边境经验会导致父母收入为 25% 的孩子的现代收入流动性增加 25%，而父母收入为 75% 的孩子的现代收入流动性增加 14%。我们使用中介分析来提供暗示性证据，表明“粗暴的个人主义”的非正式表现（由个人本身体现）与正式政策或选择性移民相比，与向上流动的关系更为密切。
Where an individual grows up has large implications for their long-term economic outcomes, including earnings and intergenerational mobility. Even within the United States, the "causal effect of place" varies greatly and cannot be fully explained by socioeconomic conditions. Across different nations, variation in growth and mobility have been linked to more individualistic cultures. We assess how variation of historically driven individualism within the United States affects mobility. Areas in the United States that were isolated on the frontier for longer periods of time during the 19th century have a stronger culture of "rugged individualism" [S. Bazzi, M. Fiszbein, M. Gebresilasse, Econometrica 88, 2329- 2368 (2020)]. We combine county-level measures of frontier experience with modern measures of the causal effect of place on mobility-the predicted percentage change in an individual's earnings at age 26 y associated with "growing up" in a particular county [R. Chetty, N. Hendren, Q. J. Econ. 133, 1163-1228 (2018)]. Using commuting zone fixed effects and a suite of county level controls to absorb regional variation in frontier experience and modern economic conditions, we find an additional decade of frontier experience results in 25% greater modern-day income mobility for children of parents in the 25th percentile of income and 14% for those born to parents in the 75th percentile. We use mediation analysis to present suggestive evidence that informal manifestations of "rugged individualism"-those embodied by the individuals themselves-are more strongly associated with upward mobility than formal policy or selective migration.