Is the European Union becoming more homogeneous? An Age-Period-Cohort analysis of cultural differences between European Union member states

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2019-08-09
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en
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Abstract
Practice and theory do nowadays not match with each other in the evaluation of cultural differences between European Union (EU) member states. Therefore, this research elucidates whether or to what extent the EU is becoming more homogenous. To this end, a theoretical explanation based on pre-adult socialization is empirically tested by executing an Age-Period-Cohort analysis on the cultural change of Schwartz’ (1994) value dimensions. Data derive from the European Social Survey. The results show different trends in the pattern of homogeneity across EU member states. While several cultural value dimensions indicate that cultural differences across birth-year cohorts are declining, other dimensions indicate no differences or higher differences over time. Secondly, the results show that cultural differences between older member states are smaller than between younger ones. In contrast, no relationship is found between the dynamic relationship on the duration of a country’s EU membership and the distance of its culture to the culture of other member states. Nevertheless, the research does not completely solve the mentioned controversy. Therefore, future research should look at trends in specific countries, generate a conceptualization of socialization conditions per cohort and introduce a multi-method approach to deepen the profoundness and quality in the research field.
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Faculteit der Managementwetenschappen
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