The economic incentives of cultural transmission: spatial evidence from naming patterns across France

Yann Algan, Clément Malgouyres, Thierry Mayer, Mathias Thoenig

This paper studies how economic incentives influence cultural transmission, using a crucial expression of cultural identity: Child naming decisions. Our focus is on Arabic versus Non-Arabic names given in France over the 2003-2007 period. Our model of cultural transmission features three determinants: (i) vertical (parental) cultural transmission culture; (ii) horizontal (neighborhood) influence; (iii) information on the economic penalty associated with Arabic names. We find that economic incentives largely influence naming choices: Would the parental expectation on the economic penalty be zero, the annual number of babies born with an Arabic name would be more than 50 percent larger.

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Year of publication:	June 2021
Authors:	Algan, Yann ; Malgouyres, Clément ; Mayer, Thierry ; Thoenig, Mathias
Publisher:	Bonn, Germany : IZA - Institute of Labor Economics
Subject:	cultural economics \| cultural transmission \| first names \| social interactions \| Namensgebung \| Kinder \| Children \| Interkulturelle Beziehungen \| Cross-cultural relations \| Arabisch \| Arab \| Soziale Integration \| Social integration \| Anreiz \| Incentives \| Frankreich \| France \| 2003-2007