Abstract
This paper examines the relationship between cultural background and economic development. We focus on the example of Greece in order to analyze the cultural disparities between the Mediterranean and the North-ern European countries. We find that there is a common cultural model characterizing the Southern European nations, which spans the Mediterranean coast, from Portugal to Turkey. These countries are characterized by high uncertainty and absence of future orientation. On the other hand the cultural background in Northern European countries is found on individualism. The paper shows that the cultural values model is mirrored in the basic traits characterizing the economic and business environment of the areas (North-South) under examination. The differential cultural background is reflected in the basic economic and social developmental indicators in a consistent way.
Highlights
Discourse into the role of cultural values in the formation of a society’s economic model, its growth and development has its roots in the ancient Greek authors in an effort to explain economic reality through human behaviours
This paper examines the relationship between cultural background and economic development
On the other hand the cultural background in Northern European countries is found on individualism
Summary
Discourse into the role of cultural values in the formation of a society’s economic model, its growth and development has its roots in the ancient Greek authors in an effort to explain economic reality through human behaviours. Within the European Union, Southern European countries, and the Greek economy, systematically present macroeconomic characteristics, such as public over-indebting and a greater propensity to consume, that contrast markedly with Scandinavian economies. Certain forces within those societies are systematically influential and contribute in the formation of economic phenomena We speculate that such forces are strongly related with the structure of the specific cultural background and the long-term development model of these societies. This issue is timely after the 2008 financial crisis.
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