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...
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2021
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| 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 |
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okr-10986-359162021-08-12T13:32:42Z The Power and Roots of Aspirations : A Survey of the Empirical Evidence Fruttero, Anna Muller, Noel Calvo-Gonzalez, Oscar ASPIRATIONS EDUCATION EMPLOYMENT INDIVIDUAL BEHAVIOR MEASUREMENT POVERTY INEQUALITY ROLE MODELS 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. 2021-07-15T13:27:33Z 2021-07-15T13:27:33Z 2021-07 Working Paper 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 English Policy Research Working Paper;No. 9729 CC BY 3.0 IGO http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/3.0/igo World Bank World Bank, Washington, DC Publications & Research Publications & Research :: Policy Research Working Paper |
| repository_type |
Digital Repository |
| institution_category |
Foreign Institution |
| institution |
Digital Repositories |
| building |
World Bank Open Knowledge Repository |
| collection |
World Bank |
| language |
English |
| topic |
ASPIRATIONS EDUCATION EMPLOYMENT INDIVIDUAL BEHAVIOR MEASUREMENT POVERTY INEQUALITY ROLE MODELS |
| spellingShingle |
ASPIRATIONS EDUCATION EMPLOYMENT INDIVIDUAL BEHAVIOR MEASUREMENT POVERTY INEQUALITY ROLE MODELS Fruttero, Anna Muller, Noel Calvo-Gonzalez, Oscar The Power and Roots of Aspirations : A Survey of the Empirical Evidence |
| relation |
Policy Research Working Paper;No. 9729 |
| description |
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. |
| format |
Working Paper |
| author |
Fruttero, Anna Muller, Noel Calvo-Gonzalez, Oscar |
| author_facet |
Fruttero, Anna Muller, Noel Calvo-Gonzalez, Oscar |
| author_sort |
Fruttero, Anna |
| title |
The Power and Roots of Aspirations : A Survey of the Empirical Evidence |
| title_short |
The Power and Roots of Aspirations : A Survey of the Empirical Evidence |
| title_full |
The Power and Roots of Aspirations : A Survey of the Empirical Evidence |
| title_fullStr |
The Power and Roots of Aspirations : A Survey of the Empirical Evidence |
| title_full_unstemmed |
The Power and Roots of Aspirations : A Survey of the Empirical Evidence |
| title_sort |
power and roots of aspirations : a survey of the empirical evidence |
| publisher |
World Bank, Washington, DC |
| publishDate |
2021 |
| url |
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 |
| _version_ |
1764484075681218560 |