The Power and Roots of Aspirations : A Survey of the Empirical Evidence
Aspirations have become a common theme in empirical economics studies, but there is no unified understanding of the range of outcomes they influence, the factors that shape them, and how to measure them. This paper surveys this growing literature. The paper argues that there is compelling evide...
| Main Authors: | , , |
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| Format: | Working Paper |
| Language: | English |
| Published: |
World Bank, Washington, DC
2021
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| Subjects: | |
| Online Access: | http://documents.worldbank.org/curated/en/332481625231659043/The-Power-and-Roots-of-Aspirations-A-Survey-of-the-Empirical-Evidence http://hdl.handle.net/10986/35916 |
| Summary: | Aspirations have become a common theme in empirical
economics studies, but there is no unified understanding
of the range of outcomes they influence, the factors that
shape them, and how to measure them. This paper surveys
this growing literature. The paper argues that there is compelling
evidence to consider aspirations as a useful lens to
analyze human behavior and development outcomes, at
the individual and aggregate levels, in poorer and richer
countries. The empirical evidence aligns with the theory
that high aspirations can lead individuals to achieve better
educational, labor market, and other outcomes and can
contribute to making countries more equal and prosperous.
The empirical evidence also confirms that the mix of
social and circumstantial factors shaping aspirations tends
to hinder the aspirations of the disadvantaged—such as
the poor, immigrants, and women—and can contribute to
vicious circles of poverty, high inequality, low social mobility,
and low growth. However, high aspirations should not
be considered as an end in themselves as they can backfire,
with deleterious effects, if unmatched with opportunities.
Further, the paper argues that definitional and measurement
issues can affect the understanding of the topic and that
studies should more explicitly describe their measures of
aspirations to ensure that divergent underlying concepts
are not mistaken. |
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