Individual values and household finances. Issue 35 (27th July 2017)

• Record Type: Journal Article
• Authors: Gogolin, Fabian; Dowling, Michael; Cummins, Mark
• Is Part Of: Applied economics. Volume 49:Issue 35(2017)
• Page Start: 3560
• Page End: 3578
• Publication Date: 2017-07-27
• Subjects: Household finance -- cultural values -- religion -- World Values Survey; D14 -- G11 -- Z1; Economics -- Periodicals; 330
• DOI: 10.1080/00036846.2016.1262528
• Languages: English
• ISSNs: 0003-6846

Abstract

ABSTRACT: We create individual cultural values measures for households and show that this is an important determinant of their financial behaviour. To date, personal cultural values have only been indirectly measured through religion and trust. But these are, at best, an approximation of true cultural values. Applying a holistic framework from the World Values Survey (WVS), we create individual measures of cultural values, and show that the self-expression values of this framework are positively associated with households' financial decisions. Examining the individual cultural values that make up the WVS model, we further show that happiness, trust, and playing an active role in society, are individually important determinants of household financial decision-making. Our study shows that cultural values can be brought from a generalized national level to the individual level in order to improve our understanding of household financial decision-making.