Abstract
One of the most used dimensions for comparing human values at the cultural level is that of indivi dualism-collectivism. It was originally proposed by Hofstede (1984), and continues to be employed in current theoretical models such as those of Triandis (1995) and Schwartz (1994). Although the Hofstede and Schwartz models have been compared in previous studies, there is little data that permits an evaluation of their explanatory potential with respect to macro-social and macro-economic variables. Furthermore, even when there is evidence to the relation of the individualism-collectivism dimension with others, such as power distance, autonomy and conservation, they are not usually treated in the same study. In this sense, our work compares these two models in relation to the values of individualism-collectivism. With this goal in mind, the same 20 countries that have scores in Hofstede and Schwartz's studies on these dimensions are compared in relation to a group of macro-social (birth rate, human development, illiteracy rate, etc.) and macro-economic (gross national product, rate of agricultural activity, rate of inflation, etc.) variables. Results show that the Hofstede model is better explained by macro-economic variables while the Schwartz model is better accounted for by macro-social variables.
