When Culture Matters: Essays on Voting, Identity and Norms
Author
Summary, in English
This thesis consists of three self-contained papers that study the role of culture in economics by examining how culture shapes responses to policies, how public interventions influence cultural identity, and how cultural persistence affects economic behavior and policy outcomes.
The first chapter examines the political consequences of symbolic changes to public space in Spain, focusing on the renaming of streets honoring figures from the Franco dictatorship. Using three complementary empirical strategies and combining observational and survey evidence, I show that the removal of Francoist street names leads to a significant increase in support for far-right parties in affected areas, particularly when the names had high symbolic salience. Evidence from a novel individual-level survey indicates that this backlash is driven by identity-based concerns rather than practical objections.
The second chapter asks whether language policy can reshape cultural identity. We study a 1986 reform in Navarre, Spain, that assigned the Basque language three different legal statuses across municipalities. Using a difference-indifferences design across birth cohorts, we find that while the reform increased Basque proficiency, its effects on identity depend on segregation: learning Basque raises one’s Basque identification, but aggregate-level identity strengthens only when segregation is low and weakens when linguistic sorting is high.
The third chapter studies the causal effect of public discourse in one or both sides of the market on overall market socially responsible behavior. In a laboratory setting, we vary whether firms and/or consumers participate in a public discussion before trading begins. When both sides take part, the share of socially responsible trades increases slightly; however, when only one side participates, market social responsibility does not improve relative to a no-discourse control. These findings suggest that campaigns aiming to foster socially responsible conduct must engage all sides of the market to achieve meaningful impact. We also provide evidence that the effectiveness of public discourse will be limited when participants prioritize profits over norm adherence.
The first chapter examines the political consequences of symbolic changes to public space in Spain, focusing on the renaming of streets honoring figures from the Franco dictatorship. Using three complementary empirical strategies and combining observational and survey evidence, I show that the removal of Francoist street names leads to a significant increase in support for far-right parties in affected areas, particularly when the names had high symbolic salience. Evidence from a novel individual-level survey indicates that this backlash is driven by identity-based concerns rather than practical objections.
The second chapter asks whether language policy can reshape cultural identity. We study a 1986 reform in Navarre, Spain, that assigned the Basque language three different legal statuses across municipalities. Using a difference-indifferences design across birth cohorts, we find that while the reform increased Basque proficiency, its effects on identity depend on segregation: learning Basque raises one’s Basque identification, but aggregate-level identity strengthens only when segregation is low and weakens when linguistic sorting is high.
The third chapter studies the causal effect of public discourse in one or both sides of the market on overall market socially responsible behavior. In a laboratory setting, we vary whether firms and/or consumers participate in a public discussion before trading begins. When both sides take part, the share of socially responsible trades increases slightly; however, when only one side participates, market social responsibility does not improve relative to a no-discourse control. These findings suggest that campaigns aiming to foster socially responsible conduct must engage all sides of the market to achieve meaningful impact. We also provide evidence that the effectiveness of public discourse will be limited when participants prioritize profits over norm adherence.
Department/s
Publishing year
2026
Language
English
Publication/Series
Lund Economic Studies
Issue
248
Full text
Document type
Dissertation
Publisher
Lund University
Topic
- Economics
Keywords
- Voting
- Identity
- Spain
- Renaming
- Far-Right
- Basque
- Segregation
- Language
- Language reform
- Education
- Public Discourse
- Markets
- Social Responsibility
- Experiment
Status
Published
Supervisor
ISBN/ISSN/Other
- ISBN: 978-91-8104-900-8
- ISBN: 978-91-8104-901-5
Defence date
8 May 2026
Defence time
09:15
Defence place
EC3:210
Opponent
- Irma Clots-Figueras (Professor)