Race, culture, and economics: an example from North-South trade relations

This essay refines the understanding of culture and race - with operational and temporal dynamics - to explain North-South trade outcomes. Following traditions in economic sociology and anthropology, culture is presented as a toolkit of values. The recent rise of racism and xenophobia as values associated with populism can be traced to cultural toolkits that have sedimented histories. The cultural unsettledness of the present times has brought these values to fore. The blindspots in political economy ignored the cultural embeddedness of interests and values as they evolve through time, and therefore missed both the examination of important outcomes and their historical roots. The paper provides an empirical example from racialized values embedded in the history of North-South trade relations.

Automated summary

This essay refines the understanding of culture and race to explain North-South trade outcomes. Culture is presented as a toolkit of values, and the rise of racism and xenophobia can be traced to sedimented histories within cultural toolkits.