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Understanding divergence of living standards between Asia and Europe: a proposition of regionally dominant cultural effects

This paper aims to compare living standards in Asia and in Europe with respect to several cultural dimensions to which the research on economic prosperity has paid attention. Some studies pool countries in multiple regions to identify cultural effects on economic prosperity, and this paper argues th...

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Main Author: Yong, Enn Lun
Format: Article
Language:English
Published: 2019
Subjects:
H Social Sciences (General)
HC Economic history and conditions
Online Access:https://eprints.ums.edu.my/id/eprint/24071/7/Understanding%20divergence%20of%20living%20standards%20between%20Asia%20and%20Europe%20a%20proposition%20of%20regionally%20dominant%20cultural%20effects.pdf
https://eprints.ums.edu.my/id/eprint/24071/
https://doi.org/10.1186/s40856-019-0038-0
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spelling my.ums.eprints.240712020-04-18T14:34:15Z https://eprints.ums.edu.my/id/eprint/24071/ Understanding divergence of living standards between Asia and Europe: a proposition of regionally dominant cultural effects Yong, Enn Lun H Social Sciences (General) HC Economic history and conditions This paper aims to compare living standards in Asia and in Europe with respect to several cultural dimensions to which the research on economic prosperity has paid attention. Some studies pool countries in multiple regions to identify cultural effects on economic prosperity, and this paper argues that such regional differences in culture must be considered. In addition to empirically distinguishing Asia and Europe in terms of living standards with respect to selected cultural dimensions, this study also distinguishes and investigates regions within Europe. A theoretical argument explains each region’s dominant cultural dimension, thereby hypothesizing regionally distinct effects of culture on living standards. A quadruple model is developed, and different samples are used to test the reliability and validity of the theoretical proposition. Two cultural dimensions, individualism and power distance, are identified as hallmarks of the divergence of living standards between Asia and Europe. Individualism has a significantly positive effect in Europe but insignificant in Asia, whereas the findings are opposite for power distance. The results remain robust even after controlling for confounders. The findings suggest potential barriers to maximizing the effectiveness of economic policies because a development approach adopted from Europe could be less effective in Asia, and vice versa, owing to a different dominant culture. 2019 Article PeerReviewed text en https://eprints.ums.edu.my/id/eprint/24071/7/Understanding%20divergence%20of%20living%20standards%20between%20Asia%20and%20Europe%20a%20proposition%20of%20regionally%20dominant%20cultural%20effects.pdf Yong, Enn Lun (2019) Understanding divergence of living standards between Asia and Europe: a proposition of regionally dominant cultural effects. Asian Journal of German and European Studies, 4 (1). pp. 1-21. https://doi.org/10.1186/s40856-019-0038-0
institution Universiti Malaysia Sabah
building UMS Library
collection Institutional Repository
continent Asia
country Malaysia
content_provider Universiti Malaysia Sabah
content_source UMS Institutional Repository
url_provider http://eprints.ums.edu.my/
language English
topic H Social Sciences (General)
HC Economic history and conditions
spellingShingle H Social Sciences (General)
HC Economic history and conditions
Yong, Enn Lun
Understanding divergence of living standards between Asia and Europe: a proposition of regionally dominant cultural effects
description This paper aims to compare living standards in Asia and in Europe with respect to several cultural dimensions to which the research on economic prosperity has paid attention. Some studies pool countries in multiple regions to identify cultural effects on economic prosperity, and this paper argues that such regional differences in culture must be considered. In addition to empirically distinguishing Asia and Europe in terms of living standards with respect to selected cultural dimensions, this study also distinguishes and investigates regions within Europe. A theoretical argument explains each region’s dominant cultural dimension, thereby hypothesizing regionally distinct effects of culture on living standards. A quadruple model is developed, and different samples are used to test the reliability and validity of the theoretical proposition. Two cultural dimensions, individualism and power distance, are identified as hallmarks of the divergence of living standards between Asia and Europe. Individualism has a significantly positive effect in Europe but insignificant in Asia, whereas the findings are opposite for power distance. The results remain robust even after controlling for confounders. The findings suggest potential barriers to maximizing the effectiveness of economic policies because a development approach adopted from Europe could be less effective in Asia, and vice versa, owing to a different dominant culture.
format Article
author Yong, Enn Lun
author_facet Yong, Enn Lun
author_sort Yong, Enn Lun
title Understanding divergence of living standards between Asia and Europe: a proposition of regionally dominant cultural effects
title_short Understanding divergence of living standards between Asia and Europe: a proposition of regionally dominant cultural effects
title_full Understanding divergence of living standards between Asia and Europe: a proposition of regionally dominant cultural effects
title_fullStr Understanding divergence of living standards between Asia and Europe: a proposition of regionally dominant cultural effects
title_full_unstemmed Understanding divergence of living standards between Asia and Europe: a proposition of regionally dominant cultural effects
title_sort understanding divergence of living standards between asia and europe: a proposition of regionally dominant cultural effects
publishDate 2019
url https://eprints.ums.edu.my/id/eprint/24071/7/Understanding%20divergence%20of%20living%20standards%20between%20Asia%20and%20Europe%20a%20proposition%20of%20regionally%20dominant%20cultural%20effects.pdf
https://eprints.ums.edu.my/id/eprint/24071/
https://doi.org/10.1186/s40856-019-0038-0
_version_ 1760230193218191360
score 13.211869

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