Social capital, personal values and economic development: effect oninnovation. An international analysis

Abstract

Although it is widely accepted that innovation plays an important role in economicgrowth and development, which factors influence innovation remains an importantquestion of debate in the economic literature. This article focuses on the influenceexerted by social capital (SC) and personal values (PVs), given the lack of studiesthat jointly incorporate these two variables. This paper attempts tofill this gap byusing a methodology that additionally includes the national income of the country asa moderating factor on innovation. Using data from the World Value Survey, ourstudyfinds that the influence of SC on innovation is not as relevant as expected, andthat the effect of personal values is moderated by the level of economicdevelopment. Thisfinding contributes to a better understanding of the role played bySC and PVs in the economic development process via their effects on innovation.