Generate QR code
Open Access
Subscription Access
Industrial employment and secular values: A comparative analysis of seven waves of the WVS
https://doi.org/10.32609/0042-8736-2026-3-87-105
Abstract
This article examines industrial employment as an independent channel for the influence of economic structure on values. Unlike Inglehart and Welzel’s cultural theory of modernization, which focuses on GDP growth and existential security, we propose an additional, organizational-logical channel for the influence of economic change on cultural change, linked to the micro-contexts of the workplace. Using data from seven waves of the World Values Survey (WVS) from 1981 to 2022, we reproduce C. Welzel’s secular values index, supplementing it with indicators of the share of people employed in the industrial and manufacturing sectors. Fixed-effects regression models show a robust positive relationship between industrial employment and secular values, even after accounting for the logarithm of GDP per capita in PPP and the polyarchy index. No such relationship is found for emancipatory values. We interpret this as evidence that industrial micro-contexts primarily secularize power, but do not necessarily strengthen orientations toward autonomy. The sectoral structure of employment thus complements the standard emphasis on developmental level in explaining cultural differences.
Keywords
secular values,
industrialization,
employment structure,
values,
organizational-logical channel,
political culture,
modernization
JEL: Z10
Supporting agencies: The article was prepared within the framework of the HSE University Basic Research Program
About the Author
A. U. Musaev
HSE University;
Plekhanov Russian University of Economics
Russian Federation
Russian Federation
Artur U. Musaev
Moscow
References
1. Almakaeva A. M., Mavletova A. M. (2018). Modernization processes in Russia: Can we expect the shift to emancipative values? Monitoring of Public Opinion: Economic and Social Changes, No. 6, pp. 91—112. (In Russian). https://doi.org/10.14515/monitoring.2018.6.05
2. Almond G. A., Verba S. (2014). The civic сulture: Political attitudes and democracy in five nations. Moscow: Mysl. (In Russian).
3. Auzan A., Kelimbetov K. (2012). Socio-cultural formula for economic modernization. Voprosy Ekonomiki, No. 5, pp. 37—44. (In Russian). https://doi.org/10.32609/0042-8736-2012-5-37-44
4. Barkov S. A., Zubkov V. I. (2013). Sociology of organizations. Moscow: Yurait. (In Russian).
5. Bell D. (2004). The coming of post-industrial society. Moscow: Academia. (In Russian).
6. Weber M. (1990). The protestant ethic and the spirit of capitalism. In: Weber M. Selected works. Moscow: Progress, pp. 61—272. (In Russian).
7. Weber M. (2017). The economic ethics of the world religions: Essays in the sociology of religion. Confucianism and Taoism. Moscow: Vladimir Dal. (In Russian).
8. Welzel C. (2018). Freedom rising. Moscow: VTsIOM. (In Russian).
9. de Vries J. (2016). The industrious revolution: Consumer behavior and the household economy, 1650 to the present. Moscow: Delo. (In Russian).
10. Inglehart R. F. (2022). Religion’s sudden decline: What’s causing it, and what comes next?. St. Petersburg: European University at St. Petersburg Publ. (In Russian).
11. Inglehart R., Welzel C. (2011). Modernization, cultural change, and democracy. Moscow: Novoe Izdatelstvo. (In Russian).
12. Rubin D., Koyama M. (2024). How the world became rich: The historical origins of economic growth. Moscow: Gaidar Institute Publ. (In Russian).
13. Mokyr J. (2010). Culture, institutions, and economic growth. Scientific Researches of Faculty of Economics. Electronic Journal, Vol. 3, No. 2, pp. 34—83. (In Russian).
14. Tikhonova N. E., Anikin V. A., Goryunova S. V., Lezhnina Y. P. (2007a). The concept of modernization in the works of classical sociological thought of the second half of the nineteenth to early twentieth centuries. Sociology: Methodology, Methods, Mathematical Modeling, No. 24, pp. 102—129. (In Russian).
15. Tikhonova N. E., Anikin V. A., Goryunova S. V., Lezhnina Y. P. (2007b). Evolution of the modernization concept in the second half of the twentieth century. Sociology: Methodology, Methods, Mathematical Modeling, No. 25, pp. 22—47. (In Russian).
16. Florida R. (2007). The rise of the creative class: And how it’s transforming work, leisure, community and everyday life. Transl. from English. Moscow: Klassika-XXI. (In Russian).
17. Dahrendorf R. (1959). Class and class conflict in industrial society. Stanford, CA: Stanford University Press.
18. Gorodnichenko Y., Roland G. (2011). Which dimensions of culture matter for long-run growth? American Economic Review, Vol. 101, No. 3, pp. 492—498. https://doi.org/10.1257/aer.101.3.492
19. Inglehart R. (1971). The silent revolution in Europe: Intergenerational change in post-industrial societies. American Political Science Review, Vol. 65, No. 4, pp. 991—1017. https://doi.org/10.2307/1953494
20. Inglehart R., Baker W. E. (2000). Modernization, cultural change, and the persistence of traditional values. American Sociological Review, Vol. 65, No. 1, pp. 19—51. https://doi.org/10.1177/000312240006500103
21. Minkov M., Hofstede G. (2011). The evolution of Hofstede’s doctrine. Cross Cultural Management: An International Journal, Vol. 18, No. 1, pp. 10—20. https://doi.org/10.1108/13527601111104269
22. Minkov M., Sokolov B., Ponarin E., Almakaeva A., Nastina E. (2023). Is “regional culture” a meaningful concept? Cultural differences across 60 Russian regions. Cross Cultural & Strategic Management, Vol. 30, No. 3, pp. 637—656. https://doi.org/10.1108/CCSM-07-2022-0126
23. Musaev A. (2025). How structure of labor markets helps explain culture: The сase of 60 Russian regions. Cross-Cultural Research. https://doi.org/10.1177/10693971251400525
24. Musaev A., Ankudinov I. (2025). A labor theory of values: Employment structure, survey sensitivity, and cultural emancipation in modernizing societies. Comparative Sociology, forthcoming.
25. Nickell S., Redding S., Swaffield J. (2008). The uneven pace of deindustrialisation in the OECD. World Economy, Vol. 31, No. 9, pp. 1154—1184. https://doi.org/10.1111/j.1467-9701.2008.01125.x
26. Parsons T. (1970). Some considerations on the theory of social change. In: S. N. Eisenstadt (ed.). Readings in social evolution and development. Oxford: Pergamon Press, pp. 95—121. https://doi.org/10.1016/B978-0-08-006812-1.50009-5
27. Rodrik D. (2016). Premature deindustrialization. Journal of Economic Growth, Vol. 21, No. 1, pp. 1—33. https://doi.org/10.1007/s10887-015-9122-3
28. Rowthorn R. (2024). Premature deindustrialization: A cautionary note. Japanese Political Economy, Vol. 50, No. 3—4, pp. 264—275. https://doi.org/10.1080/2329194X.2024.2397896
29. Sato H., Kuwamori H. (2024). A note on premature deindustrialization. Japanese Political Economy, Vol. 50, No. 3—4, pp. 276—304. https://doi.org/10.1080/2329194X.2024.2367987
30. Schwartz S. H. (2012). An overview of the Schwartz theory of basic values. Online Readings in Psychology and Culture, Vol. 2, No. 1, article 11. https://doi.org/10.9707/2307-0919.1116
31. Tabellini G. (2008). Institutions and culture. Journal of the European Economic Аssociation, Vol. 6, No. 2—3, pp. 255-294. https://doi.org/10.1162/JEEA.2008.6.2-3.255
32. Tabellini G. (2010). Culture and institutions: Economic development in the regions of Europe. Journal of the European Economic Аssociation, Vol. 8, No. 4, pp. 677—716. https://doi.org/10.1111/j.1542-4774.2010.tb00537.x
33. Welzel C. (2011). The Asian values thesis revisited: Evidence from the world values surveys. Japanese Journal of Political Science, Vol. 12, No. 1, pp. 1—31. https://doi.org/10.1017/S1468109910000277
34. Welzel C., Inglehart R. (2009). Political culture, mass beliefs, and value change. In: C. W. Haerpfer (ed.). Democratization. Oxford: Oxford University Press, pp. 126—144. https://doi.org/10.1093/hepl/9780199233021.003.0009
35. Welzel C., Inglehart R., Kligemann H. D. (2003). The theory of human development: A cross-cultural analysis. European Journal of Political Research, Vol. 42, No. 3, pp. 341—379. https://doi.org/10.1111/1475-6765.00086
Review
For citations:
Musaev A.U. Industrial employment and secular values: A comparative analysis of seven waves of the WVS. Voprosy Ekonomiki. 2026;(3):87-105. (In Russ.) https://doi.org/10.32609/0042-8736-2026-3-87-105
Views:
378
JATS XML
Email this article 