10. Power Distance, Uncertainty, Time and Growth

Power distance and uncertainty avoidance are two key cultural dimensions strongly interrelated with economic growth. The role of time has attracted interest because thinking about future actions constitutes a basic feature of human thought. From an individual’s perspective, future orientation requires the development of a series of abilities. These include cognitive and mental processes (such as planning, prediction of circumstances and ways of behavior), as well as emotions and attitudes (such as optimism, pessimism and hope). Similarly, incentives, which are expressed as interests, values and goals, play a primary role in the individual’s future actions. Time orientation is closely connected with individual progress. By predicting the future, people feel as though they are predicting their own development, resulting in the fact that we set the directions we wish to follow.