Please use this identifier to cite or link to this item: https://hdl.handle.net/10419/156663 
Year of Publication: 
2016
Series/Report no.: 
WIFO Working Papers No. 515
Publisher: 
Austrian Institute of Economic Research (WIFO), Vienna
Abstract: 
Ever since Max Weber (1930) uncovered the cultural origins of capitalism, a common denominator for explanations of economic development is that "individualistic values" provide a more favourable background for promoting the wealth of nations. This paper investigates the impact of individualist values on personal attitudes towards government intervention, as a potential link of culture and formal institutions. We consider two key components of an "individualistic culture" to be particularly relevant for attitude formation, namely values related to self-direction and self-determination. Results indicate that both elements of individualistic values are associated negatively with interventionist preferences. Interestingly, effects of self-direction values on intervention attitudes are much weaker though, than the effects of a strong belief in self-determination. Moreover, the effects of self-direction on intervention preferences are mitigated through higher trust in state actors and lower confidence in major companies, while that does not appear to be the case for self-determination values.
Subjects: 
individualism
self-direction
self-determination
government intervention
institutional trust
preference formation
JEL: 
D70
D78
H10
L50
Document Type: 
Working Paper

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