ABSTRACT

This chapter examines regional outcomes — that is, whether culture impacts on the variation in electoral support for political parties across provinces in a country. It discusses the outcomes which have been connected with culture and surveys some more specific theories relating culture and outcomes. The real-world consequences of cultural preferences have been researched in a set of social science theories which have received much attention. The dominance of the rational choice framework within political science has contributed to a neglect of the impact of cultural and altruistic preferences on society and politics, which the cultural approach framework targets. In several social science theories culture constitutes a critical factor when accounting for the variation in democratic stability. When setting out to explain this country variation in economic development, one should examine versions of the thesis that cultural factors have an impact on economic performance.