Adam Smith was wrong. It is not selfish individuals who cause economic development, but strong communities Cover Image

Adam Smith pomylił się. To nie egoistyczne jednostki, lecz silne wspólnoty powodują szybszy rozwój ekonomiczny
Adam Smith was wrong. It is not selfish individuals who cause economic development, but strong communities

Author(s): Mariusz Maziarz
Subject(s): Economic development, Socio-Economic Research
Published by: Fundacja Pro Scientia Publica
Keywords: collectivism; causality in economics; determinants of growth; individualism/collectivism;

Summary/Abstract: According to the two most popular philosophical theories of causality, there are two ways of recognizing such relations: (1) by understanding mechanisms and processes between variables (in pursuance of causal realism) or (2) by correlation analysis (because, as Hume wrote, it is impossible to cognize the causal relationship itself). I applied these two methods to answer the question - if there is a cause-and-effect relationship between one of the cultural dimensions, namely individualism-collectivism and the rate of economic growth. This study, conducted on a group of EU countries shows that more collectivistic countries develop faster.

  • Issue Year: 2015
  • Issue No: 5
  • Page Range: 388-399
  • Page Count: 12
  • Language: Polish