Analýza vlivu kultury na ekonomický rozvoj zemí

Abstract

This work is focused on the fact that economic growth and development are influenced by the culture of countries. Differences in world cultures are explained by the influence of individual religions, evolving across human history. Economic development can be influenced by how religions are put to work, savings, investments and innovations, which are often perceived as its main driving force. The aim of this work is to compare the differences in the level of living standards in the countries with dominant Protestant, Catholic and Muslim culture and to explore the possible influence of culture on the economic growth and development of countries by means of a search of empirical literature. The theoretical part is devoted to the basic concepts related to this topic, and by the research of empirical literature there are depicted different opinions and practices of authors who focus on the influence of culture on economic growth and development. There are three basic parts in this area of study: the influence of religion on values and economic attitudes, the direct influence of religion on economic growth, and the influence of religiosity on economic growth. The practical part is devoted to the analysis of differences in living standards in countries dominated by the following cultures: Protestant (Denmark, Finland, Sweden), Catholic (Italy, Spain, Poland) and Muslim (Egypt, Iraq, Iran). Finally, the findings are summarized. This analysis shows that the best results are achieved by countries of the Protestant culture.