Cultural impact on regional development: application of a PLS-PM model to Greece

Abstract

This paper seeks to find evidence for the impact of local culture—living culture and cultural heritage—on regional socio-economic development in Greece. The main aim of the paper is to operationalize the culture-based development hypothesis for the existence of a cumulative causation process of cultural impact on Greek local development. To test this hypothesis empirically, we employ an original and uniquely compiled dataset of over 130 economic and social indicators about Greece on a NUTS3 level, assembled from various international and local sources. Employing a combined nonparametric partial-least squares path modelling approach, we find evidence that—in contrast to results from other European countries and the USA—in Greece, culture influences not only the human capital, but also the overall labour force structure. This appears to affect not only the economic productivity, but also the overall quality of life in the locality concerned. These results, based on nonparametric estimations, were confirmed through triangulation with parametric 3SLS and structural equation model tests. The latter use of parametric and nonparametric techniques in a mutually complementary manner is one of the novelties in this contribution.