CULTURAL DETERMINANTS OF ECONOMIC GROWTH: THE CASE OF EUROPEAN COUNTRIES

The economic growth is based on a complex set of determinants, inside which the “pure” economic variables plays an important but not unique role. The “soft” factors like information and social institutions, rules and behaviours, as well as the elements of the dominant cultural paradigm could not be easily included in the “and others” category. Thus, the aim of this paper is to provide a possible framework for the analysis of this type of determinants, able to deal especially with the interactions between culture and growths. Part I deals with the theoretical foundation by argue that “in long run” the social dynamic is not influenced only by resources and technology but also by the way in which the social actors interact in the primary distribution of the resources and in their social reallocation taking into account the cultural restrictions and requirements. Part II is an attempt to examine some empirical evidences in the favour of some results derived from this foundation. The main conclusion of the paper could be resumed by the thesis that the process of the sustainable growth could not be comparer with a linear voyage in a modern train “from here to eternity”. Rather is a trip into unknown with a colour and noisy caravan