Cultural transmission of civic attitudes

Abstract

In this empirical paper we attempt to measure the separate influence on civic engagement of educational attainment and cultural transmission of civic attitudes. Unlike most of the previous empirical works on this issue, we are able to approximate the cultural transmission of civic attitudes. We observe that civic returns to education are overstated when the transmission of civic attitudes is ignored. Moreover, the transmission of civic attitudes significantly enhances civic involvement and reinforces civic returns to education. Our findings are in line with the proposals of civic virtue theorists or grass movements who suggest that citizenship education should be included in the compulsory school curricula since, if not, families or local communities will only transmit their particular view of the world.