Values, Cultural Practices, and Economic Performance: Theory and Some Evidence from Kenya

Summary Policies, saving rates, human capital, etc., are possible explanations for poor economic performance, but while these factors are changeable, underdevelopment persists. Looking for an unchangeable factor, we construct a theory for the effect of cultural values, such as moral values, risk-taking, and responsibility to others, on economic performance, and demonstrate it using a model in which responsibility for parents prevents development. We construct data of economic performance and values of seven tribes in Kenya, and use it to support the model. Thus, we suggest a methodology for the quantitative analysis of the effect of values over the economy.