Modern neoclassical economics has, until recently, ignored the potential role of culture in explaining variation in economic outcomes, largely because of the difficulty in rigorously separating the effects of culture from those of institutions and traditional economic variables. This article selectively reviews some recent attempts to empirically identify the effects of culture on economic outcomes and to answer the question, ‘does culture matter and, if so, how much?’ Open theoretical and empirical questions are discussed, including the relationship between culture and institutions.