Heights of privilege: Economic and cultural determinants of skyscraper height across the world

Despite the global boom in skyscraper construction, the drivers of skyscraper height are still poorly understood. While extant research primarily focuses on economic determinants of skyscraper height, this article conceptualizes the skyscraper as a cultural artefact and hypothesizes that skyscraper height may also be contingent on a country’s cultural environment. The dependent variable in this study measures the architectural height of the tallest skyscraper in a sample of 90 countries. Economic covariates capture effects on height by zoning regulations, land value, relative rents, taxes and subsidies, GDP growth rate, real interest rate and potential agglomeration economies. The cultural covariates are drawn from Hofstede’s (Culture’s consequences: comparing values, behaviors, institutions, and organizations across nations, 1st ed., Vol. 5. Thousand Oaks (CA): Sage Publications, Inc.; 1980) cultural dimensions framework and include country indices for power distance, individualism, masculinity and uncertainty avoidance. The results of multiple regression analysis show significant effects of several economic covariates on skyscraper height and reveal a significant effect of cross-country differences in power distance indices on skyscraper height. As such, cross-country differences in the degree to which the less powerful members of a society accept and expect that power is distributed unequally may constrain or enable real estate developers and construction companies in how tall to propose and build skyscrapers.