Skip to main content

Advertisement

Log in

Cultural and Institutional Antecedents of Country Risk

  • Published:
Atlantic Economic Journal Aims and scope Submit manuscript

Abstract

This study explores the effects of cultural and institutional factors on country risk. We use the 2004 Global Leadership and Organizational Behavior Effectiveness Research study’s estimations of nine cultural dimensions, as well as measures of democracy and gender empowerment, in a sample consisting of 55 countries. The results indicate that gender empowerment, humane orientation, and institutional collectivism have a larger impact on country risk than democracy, uncertainty avoidance, and gender egalitarianism. The interdependency of some cultural dimensions suggests that cultural and institutional differences could be used to predict mean country risk ratings.

This is a preview of subscription content, log in via an institution to check access.

Access this article

Price excludes VAT (USA)
Tax calculation will be finalised during checkout.

Instant access to the full article PDF.

Similar content being viewed by others

Notes

  1. Hofstede points out that the cultural dimensions are theoretical constructions that originally came from standard analytical issues described in Gregg and Banks (1965) and Inkeles and Levinson (1969). For further explanation of the theoretical sources of his study see Hofstede (1980).

References

  • Altman, D. G., & Andersen, P. K. (1989). Bootstrap investigation of the stability of a cox regression model. Statistics in Medicine, 8(7), 771–783.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Banai, M. (2012). Cultural, political, and economic Antecedents of country risk in sixty-two countries. Cass-Capco Institute Paper Series on Risk, 34, 89–98.

    Google Scholar 

  • Barro, R. (1991). Economic growth in a cross section of countries. Quarterly Journal of Economics, 106(May), 407–443.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Barro, R. (1996). Democracy and growth. Journal of Economic Growth, 1(1), 1–27.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Bell, L. A. (2005). Women-led firms and the gender gap in top executive jobs, IZA discussion paper 1689. Bonn: IZA.

    Google Scholar 

  • Brunnermeier, M. K., & Sannikov, Y. (2014). A macroeconomic model with a financial sector. The American Economic Review, 104(2), 379–421.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Cheston, S., & Kuhn, L. (2002). Empowering women through microfinance. UNIFEM: Opportunity International http://storage.globalcitizen.net/data/topic/knowledge/uploads/201101311419705.pdf. Accessed 15 May 2017.

    Google Scholar 

  • Contractor, F. J. (1990). Ownership patterns of US joint ventures abroad and the liberalization of foreign government regulations in the 1980s: Evidence from the benchmark surveys. Journal of International Business Studies, 21(1), 55–73.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Cosset, J. C., & Roy, J. (1991). The determinants of country risk ratings.Journal of. International Business Studies, 22(1), 135–142.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Douglas, M., & Wildavsky, A. (1983). Risk and culture: An essay on the selection of technological and environmental dangers. Berkley: University of California Press.

    Google Scholar 

  • Eckel, C. C., & Grossman, P. J. (2008). Men, women and risk aversion: Experimental evidence. Handbook of experimental economics results, 1, 1061–1073.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Fischhoff, B., Lichtenstein, S., Slovic, P., Derby, S. L., & Keeney, R. L. (1981). Acceptable risk. New York: Cambridge University Press.

    Google Scholar 

  • Freedom House (2017). Freedom in the World Country Rating 2004. Washington D.C. and New York: Freedom House. Freedom House. https://freedomhouse.org/report/fiw-2017-table-country-scores. Accessed 15 May 2017.

  • Gregg, P. M., & Banks, A. S. (1965). Dimensions of political systems: Factor analysis of a cross-polity survey. American Political Science Review, 59(03), 602–614.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Hambrick, D. C., Cho, T. S., & Chen, M. J. (1996). The influence of top management team heterogeneity on firms’ competitive moves. Administrative Science Quarterly, 41, 659–684.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Hannan, M. T., & Carroll, G. R. (1981). Dynamics of formal political structure: An event-history analysis. American Sociological Review, 19–35.

  • Hayek, F. A. (1948). Individualism and economic order. Chicago: University of Chicago Press.

    Google Scholar 

  • Heckelman, J. C. (2000). Economic freedom and economic growth: A short-run causal investigation. Journal of Applied Economics, 3(1), 71–91.

    Google Scholar 

  • Hilscher, J., & Nosbusch, Y. (2010). Determinants of sovereign risk: Macroeconomic fundamentals and the pricing of sovereign debt. Review of Finance, rfq005.

  • Hofstede, G. (1980). Culture's consequences: International differences in work-related values. Beverly Hills, CA: Sage.

    Google Scholar 

  • Hofstede, G., Van Deusen, C. A., Mueller, C. B., Charles, T. A., & the Business Goals Network. (2002). What goals do business leaders pursue? A study in fifteen countries. Journal of International Business Studies, 33, 785–803.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Hoggarth, G., Reis, R, & Saporta, V. (2002). Costs of banking system instability: Some empirical evidence. Journal of Banking and Finance, 26(5), 825-855.

  • House, R. J., Hanges, P. J., Javidan, M., Dorfman, P. W., & Gupta, V. (Eds.). (2004). Culture, leadership, and organizations: The GLOBE study of 62 societies. Thousand Oaks: Sage publications.

    Google Scholar 

  • Houston, J. F., Lin, C., Lin, P., & Ma, Y. (2010). Creditor rights, information sharing, and bank risk taking. Journal of Financial Economics, 96(3), 485–512.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Husted, B. W. (1999). Wealth, culture, and corruption. Journal of International Business Studies, 30(2), 339–359.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Inkeles, A., & Levinson, D. J. (1969). National character: The study of modal personality and sociocultural systems. In G. Lindzey & E. Aronson (Eds.), The handbook of social psychology IV (pp. 418-506). New York: McGraw-Hill (first published 1954).

    Google Scholar 

  • Kabeer, N. (1998). 'Money can't buy me love'? Re-evaluating gender, credit and empowerment in rural Bangladesh. Discussion Paper-Institute of Development Studies, UK: University of Sussex.

  • Kanagaretnam, K., Lim, C. Y., & Lobo, G. J. (2011). Effects of national culture on earnings quality of banks. Journal of International Business Studies, 42(6), 853–874.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Kapitsa, L. M. (2008). Women’s economic empowerment. Division for the advancement of women. New York: United Nations.

    Google Scholar 

  • Kasturirangan, A., Krishnan, S., & Riger, S. (2004). The impact of culture and minority status on women’s experience of domestic violence. Trauma, Violence & Abuse, 5(4), 318–332.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Khan, R. E. A., & Noreen, S. (2012). Microfinance and women empowerment: A case study of district Bahawalpur (Pakistan). African Journal of Business Management, 6(12), 4514–4521.

    Google Scholar 

  • King, E. M., & Hill, M. A. (Eds.). (1997). Women's education in developing countries: Barriers, benefits, and policies. World Bank Publications.

  • Klasen, S. (2006). UNDP's gender-related measures: Some conceptual problems and possible solutions. Journal of Human Development, 7(2), 243–274.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Knack, S., & Keefer, P. (1995). Institutions and economic performance: Cross-country tests using alternative institutional measures. Economics and Politics, 7(3), 207–227.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Lehnert, T., Frijns, B., Gilbert, A. B., & Tourani-Rad, A. (2011). Cultural values, CEO risk aversion and corporate takeovers. In LSF research working paper series 11–01. Luxembourg: University of.

    Google Scholar 

  • Lian, B., & Oneal, J. R. (1997). Cultural diversity and economic development: A cross-National Study of 98 countries, 1960–1985. Economic Development and Cultural Change, 46(1), 61–77.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Masson, P. R. (1998). Contagion: Monsoonal effects, spillovers, and jumps between multiple equilibria. IMF Working Paper. https://www.imf.org/external/pubs/ft/wp/wp98142.pdf. Accessed 15 May 2017.

  • Mcmillan, J., Rausser, G. C., & Johnson, S. R. (1991). Freedoms and economic growth. Washington, DC: Institute for Policy Reform.

    Google Scholar 

  • Njogu, K., & Orchardson-Mazrui, E. (2013). Gender inequality and Women's rights in the Great Lakes: Can culture contribute to Women's empowerment. UNICEF policy document.

  • North, D. C. (1986). The new institutional economics. Journal of Institutional and Theoretical Economics, 142, 230–237.

    Google Scholar 

  • Organization for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD). OECD Country Risk Classifications 2005–2013. http://www.oecd.org/tad/xcred/cre-crc-historical-internet-english.pdf. Accessed 15 May 2017.

  • Romer, P. M. (1990). Endogenous technological change. The Journal of Political Economy, 98(5), S71–S102.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Rothaermel, F. T., Kotha, S., & Steensma, H. K. (2006). International market entry by US internet firms: An empirical analysis of country risk, national culture, and market size. Journal of Management, 32(1), 56–82.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Roubini, N., & Sachs, J. D. (1989). Political and economic determinants of budget deficits in the industrial democracies. European Economic Review, 33(5), 903–933.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Sen, A. (1999). Development as freedom. Oxford: Oxford University Press.

    Google Scholar 

  • Shrader, C. B., Blackburn, V. B., & Iles, P. (1997). Women in management and firm financial performance: an explorative study. Journal of Managerial Issues, 9(3), 355–372.

    Google Scholar 

  • Smith, N., Smith, V., & Verner, M. (2006). Do women in top management affect firm performance? A panel study of 2,500 Danish firms. International Journal of Productivity and Performance Management, 55(7), 569–593.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Stulz, R. M., & Williamson, R. (2003). Culture, openness, and finance. Journal of Financial Economics, 70(3), 313–349.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Tanzi, V. (1998). Corruption around the world: Causes, consequences, scope, and cures. Staff Papers-International Monetary Fund, 559-594.

  • The World Bank (2017). GNI per capita, Atlas method (current US$). http://data.worldbank.org/indicator/NY.GNP.PCAP.CD. Accessed 15 May 2017.

  • Tibshirani, R. (1996). Regression shrinkage and selection via the lasso. Journal of the Royal Statistical Society, Series B, 58, 267–288.

    Google Scholar 

  • Triandis, H. C. (1994). Theoretical and methodological approaches to the study of collectivism and individualism. Cross Cultural Research and Methodology Series-Sage, 18, 41–41.

    Google Scholar 

  • Tzannatos, Z., & Kaur, I. (2003). Women in the MENA labor market: An eclectic survey. In Women and globalization in the Middle East (pp. 55–72). Boulder: Lynne Rienner.

    Google Scholar 

  • United Nations (2011). World Economic Situation and Prospects 2011. United Nations Publications. http://www.un.org/en/development/desa/policy/wesp/wesp_current/2011 wespupdate.pdf. Accessed 15 May 2017.

  • United Nations Development Programme (2007). Human development report 2007/2008: Fighting climate change: Human solidarity in a divided world. New York. http://hdr.undp.org/sites/default/files/reports/268/hdr_20072008_en_complete.pdf. Accessed 15 May 2017.

  • Varkey, P., Kureshi, S., & Lesnick, T. (2010). Empowerment of women and its association with the health of the community. Journal of Women's Health, 19(1), 71–76.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Weber, M. (2002). The Protestant ethic and the" spirit" of capitalism and other writings. New York: Penguin.

Download references

Acknowledgements

We would like to thank Mark Weinstock and Joseph Morreale for the valuable comments on an early draft of this paper.

Author information

Authors and Affiliations

Authors

Corresponding author

Correspondence to Anna Shostya.

Rights and permissions

Reprints and permissions

About this article

Check for updates. Verify currency and authenticity via CrossMark

Cite this article

Shostya, A., Banai, M. Cultural and Institutional Antecedents of Country Risk. Atl Econ J 45, 351–364 (2017). https://doi.org/10.1007/s11293-017-9548-4

Download citation

  • Published:

  • Issue Date:

  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s11293-017-9548-4

Keywords

JEL

Navigation