“Cultural Values and Productivity”, Andreas Ek2023-12-06 (economics, sociology)⁠:

This paper estimates differences in human capital as country-of-origin-specific labor productivity terms in firm production functions, making it immune to wage discrimination concerns.

After accounting for education and experience, estimated human capital varies by a factor of around 3 between the 90^th and the 10^th percentile.

When I investigate which country-of-origin characteristics most closely correlate with human capital, cultural values are the only robust predictor. This relationship persists among children of migrants.

Consistent with a plausible cultural mechanism, individuals whose origin places a high value on autonomy hold a comparative advantage in positions characterized by a low degree of routinization.