Università degli Studi Suor Orsola Benincasa - Napoli

Ricerca

Progetti di ricerca

PRIN 2022 - Cultural Background, Social and Political Identity of individuals and groups, their Dynamics and the Role of Policies

Referente: prof. Marcello D'Amato

Our research project aims at shedding new lights on the relationship between cultural dynamics and economic outcomes. We will first focus on the importance of narratives, which are an essential building blocks of cultural attitudes, traditions and norms of behavior of ethnic groups and hence of individuals and countries. Quantitative indicators of variation in narratives will be used to investigate how those attitudes and norms came to be differentiated across groups through time (across generations), in relationship to genetic evolution. Moreover they will be used to investigate the impact of this variation (measured at cross country level) on economic outcomes such as trade flows and income differences. We will then turn to the analysis of within-country cultural evolution, to study the factors that determine assimilation among groups of different ethnic origin. Our third objective is to study the long-run impact of agrarian reforms on political identity, focusing on the attitude towards migrants, and highlighting how persistent cultural traits could be and how they are shaped by public policy. The fourth research objective is the study of the relationship between culture, law enforcement and compliance behavior focusing on tax law in Italy. Finally, we will explore the relationship between cultural attitudes, trust and active citizenship, for the design of public regulation, its enforcement and private management of natural and environmental resources, focusing on public utilities in Italy. In the first two studies the research will take a global perspective. Research on the third, fourth and fifth theme, will be instead more focused on the Italian experience and history, although always based on up-to-date methods in economics. In the third task the research team will address an interesting question, i.e. the historical persistence of past policies on political identity in different regions in Italy. In the fourth task the role of cultural attitudes in tax compliance in Italy will be investigated. These topics, we believe, are relevant in terms of policy implications for the Italian economy at the present juncture. A good understanding of the dynamics of assimilation and inclusion of different ethnic groups is key for the future management of immigration policies and ultimately for the demographic structure of the country. Tax compliance is and will be a key element of the management of public debt in Italy. Relevant policy implications will also emerge from the investigation of the role of cultural attitudes for the management of the green and energy transition of the production structure and of consumption patterns over the next two decades. Thus the themes described in this project meet several of the Strategic Emerging Topics included in the call for the 2022 Prin 2022 and in the Strategic Plans considered in the PNRR.