Indirect Measurement of Regional Culture in the Netherlands

Abstract

Culture is a key concept in contemporary cultural and economic geography, but geographical research on culture is thus far mainly limited to case studies. To supplement this qualitative approach with a quantitative analysis of cultural causes and effects of geographic phenomena a data set is needed that somehow measures culture. This paper presents an attempt at such a measurement at the spatial scale of Dutch municipalities. Culture as a 'map for behaviour' is measured here indirectly, by means of factor analysis. Five dimensions of Dutch regional culture were found in this way: (1) post-materialism; (2) Protestant conservatism; (3) classical individualism; (4) egalitarian anti-conservatism; and (5) dissatisfaction. Although the regional differences in these dimensions are to a considerable extent related to differences in urbanisation, income and education rather than to some historical cultural geography, the measurement is shown to be empirically relevant and can be used in further research on culture in geography. Copyright (c) 2006 by the Royal Dutch Geographical Society KNAG Published by Blackwell Publishing Ltd..

Explaining Spatial Homogamy. Compositional, Spatial and Regional Cultural Determinants of Regional Patterns of Spatial Homogamy in the Netherlands

“…As a consequence of the 'urban culture', living in urban areas may nurture new value orientations and open-mindedness, leading to larger networks of friends and acquaintances and increasing opportunities to meet partners in a greater range of meeting places, distributed in a greater area, thus widening the distance to partners. For the Netherlands, Brons (2006) studied dimensions of regional culture and found considerable regional variation in value orientations. His measurement of value orientations is derived from indirect measures of demographic behaviour, religious adherence, and voting behaviour, and it is based on Hofstede's (1980Hofstede's ( , 1991 measurement of national cultures.…”

“…His measurement of value orientations is derived from indirect measures of demographic behaviour, religious adherence, and voting behaviour, and it is based on Hofstede's (1980Hofstede's ( , 1991 measurement of national cultures. For our study, three dimensions identified by Brons (2006) are pertinent: post-materialism, classic individualism, and Protestant conservatism (see Table 1). These dimensions of regional culture are expected to have an impact on spatial homogamy.…”

“…With increasing modernisation, the geographical horizon of individuals has been found to increase (Beekink et al 1998), as well as contacts between different groups in society (Hendrickx 1994). As changing geographical horizons are related to changing value orientations, Brons's (2006) indices seem to be useful indicators for regional cultural differences that might account for part of the regional variation in spatial homogamy. The dimension Protestant conservatism represents conservative cultures, with high levels of male dominance and uncertainty avoidance.…”

“…4 Regional cultural differences were operationalised through a set of value orientations and language variables. As religion is not documented on a large scale, it was operationalised through Brons's value orientation 'Protestant conservatism', as it is most strongly related to religion, especially Protestantism (Brons 2006). Language was operationalised by distinguishing three core areas in which Frisian, Low Saxon, and Limburgish are spoken.…”

“…By matching the CRIHO files with the cohabiters file, we could establish for each cohabiter whether that person ever studied at an institute of higher education. Finally, regional cultural differences were measured by the earlier-mentioned dimensions of core value orientations proposed by Brons (2006).…”