Pichler M. Cultural Formation of Preferences and Assimilation of Cultural Groups. Working Papers. Institute of Mathematical Economics. Vol 438. Bielefeld: Center for Mathematical Economics; 2010.Based on the cultural formation of continuous preferences framework
of Pichler [16], this paper analyzes the evolution of preferences
and behavior in a two cultural groups setting. We show that the qualitative
dynamic properties depend crucially on what parents perceive
as the optimal preferences for their children to adopt. Under inter–
generationally fixed optimal preferences, the preferences of the cultural
groups will always stay distinct. If the optimal preferences coincide
with those derived from the representative group behavior, then
a multitude of convergence path types can realize. These contain both
an inter–generational assimilation process toward the same preference
point, as well as inter–generational dissimilation
