The New Economics of Religion Iyer, Sriya
Journal of economic literature,
06/2016, Letnik:
54, Številka:
2
Journal Article
Recenzirano
The economics of religion is a relatively new field of research in economics. This survey serves two purposes—it is backward-looking in that it traces the historical and sociological ongins of this ...field, and it is forward-looking in that it examines the insights and research themes that are offered by economists to investigate religion globally in the modern world. Several factors have influenced the economics of religion: (1) new developments in theoretical models including spatial models of religious markets and evolutionary models of religious traits; (2) empirical work that addresses innovatively econometnc identification in examining causal influences on religious behavior; (3) new research in the economic history of religion that considers religion as an independent, rather than a dependent, vanable; and (4) more studies of religion outside the Western world. Based on these developments, this paper discusses four themes—first, seculanzation, pluralism, regulation, and economic growth; second, religious markets, club goods, differentiated products, and networks; third, identification including secular competition and chantable giving; and fourth, conflict and cooperation in developing societies. In reviewing this paradoxically ancient yet burgeoning field, this paper puts forward unanswered questions for scholars of the economics of religion to reflect upon in years to come.
Religion is not a popular target for economic analysis. Yet the economist’s tools offer insights into how religious groups compete, deliver social services, and reach out to converts—how religions ...nurture and deploy market power. Sriya Iyer puts these tools to use in an expansive study of India, one of the world’s most religiously diverse nations.
We conduct a public goods game in three small towns in the Indian state of Rajasthan. Due to historical military conquest, until 1947 these towns were on (barely) opposite sides of a colonial border ...separating British India from the Princely States. Our research design offers a treatment comparison between the towns of (British) Kekri and (Princely) Sarwar, and a control comparison between (Princely) Sarwar and (Princely) Shahpura. We find that participants in (British) Kekri are more co-operative (i.e., contribute more) in both home-town and mixed-town groups compared to those in (Princely) Sarwar. The latter differences are driven by individuals with family ties to the towns, and we find no differences in the control comparison. Our results highlight the enduring effects of colonial rule on social norms of co-operation.
Noel D. Johnson and Mark Koyama’s book, Persecution and Toleration: The Long Road to Religious Freedom, examines the links between religion, state action, and the development of liberalism in ...medieval Europe. It discusses a model of “conditional toleration”; how the interaction between religion and state influences persecution and discrimination against minorities; and how religious freedom eventually paved the way for scientific advances, liberalism, and economic growth. It tackles issues such as fiscal capacity, anti-Semitism in Europe, plagues including the Black Death, heresy in the Spanish Inquisition, witchcraft trials, the Holocaust, climate shocks, and the growth of cities with emergent religious minorities. It discusses these issues for a range of countries in medieval Europe, providing rich historical detail and interpretive depth for its main argument. This is a deeply evocative book that makes an important contribution to the new economics of religion. Carefully researched and thoughtfully crafted, the themes it discusses and the ideas it raises have relevance not only for medieval European societies, with which it is principally concerned, but also for contemporary economies everywhere. (JEL D72, N13, N33, N43, Z12)
We study the effect of Hindu-Muslim riots on election results in India. We combine data on geo-coded riots with data on state elections and on demographics and public goods provision to construct a ...unique panel data set for 16 large states in India from 1981 to 2001. A new instrument is used that draws upon the random variation in the day of the week that Hindu festivals fall on, as set by a lunar calendar. The probability of a riot increases if a Hindu festival falls on a Friday, the holy day for Muslims. This allows us to isolate the causal effect of riots on electoral results. The results are also corrected for under-reporting of riots and their effect on nearby districts. We find that riots occurring in the year preceding an election increase the vote share of the Hindu nationalist Bharatiya Janata Party by at least 5 percentage points.
•A panel data set on election results and Hindu-Muslim riots in India is constructed.•The causal effect of riots on the vote share of a Hindu nationalist party is found.•The coincidence of a Hindu festival falling on a Friday is used as an instrument.
The effectiveness of jobs reservation Borooah, Vani K; Dubey, Amaresh; Iyer, Sriya
Development and change,
20/May , Letnik:
38, Številka:
3
Journal Article
Recenzirano
Odprti dostop
ABSTRACT
This article investigates the effect of jobs reservation on improving the economic opportunities of persons belonging to India's Scheduled Castes (SC) and Scheduled Tribes (ST). Using ...employment data from the 55th NSS round, the authors estimate the probabilities of different social groups in India being in one of three categories of economic status: own account workers; regular salaried or wage workers; casual wage labourers. These probabilities are then used to decompose the difference between a group X and forward caste Hindus in the proportions of their members in regular salaried or wage employment. This decomposition allows us to distinguish between two forms of difference between group X and forward caste Hindus: ‘attribute’ differences and ‘coefficient’ differences. The authors measure the effects of positive discrimination in raising the proportions of ST/SC persons in regular salaried employment, and the discriminatory bias against Muslims who do not benefit from such policies. They conclude that the boost provided by jobs reservation policies was around 5 percentage points. They also conclude that an alternative and more effective way of raising the proportion of men from the SC/ST groups in regular salaried or wage employment would be to improve their employment‐related attributes.
Religion and Depression in Adolescence Fruehwirth, Jane Cooley; Iyer, Sriya; Zhang, Anwen
The Journal of political economy,
06/2019, Letnik:
127, Številka:
3
Journal Article
Recenzirano
Odprti dostop
Depression is the leading cause of illness and disability in adolescence. Many studies show a correlation between religiosity and mental health, yet the question remains whether the relationship is ...causal. We exploit within-school variation in adolescents’ peers to deal with selection into religiosity. We find robust effects of religiosity on depression that are stronger for the most depressed. These effects are not driven by the school social context; depression spreads among close friends rather than through broader peer groups that affect religiosity. Exploration of mechanisms suggests that religiosity buffers against stressors in ways in which school activities and friendships do not.
Religion, Covid-19 and mental health Bahal, Girish; Iyer, Sriya; Shastry, Kishen ...
European economic review,
11/2023, Letnik:
160
Journal Article
Recenzirano
Odprti dostop
Covid-19 and the resulting lockdowns affected various aspects of people’s lives, including their mental health. Using data from an online survey, we investigate the role of religiosity in mediating ...the effect of Covid-19 on mental health. From February-March 2021, we conducted online surveys in the USA among 5178 individuals. These surveys elicited responses on (i) the incidence of Covid-19 infections among the respondents or their immediate social networks, (ii) religious beliefs and practices, and (iii) mental health. Employing the CES-D scale, which tests for depression in clinical settings, we find that while the incidence of a Covid-19 infection is associated with significantly worse mental health, this negative association is significantly smaller for religious people. We show that the mental health benefits of being religious emanate from the ability to participate in religious activities.
•Incidence of a Covid-19 infection significantly worsens mental health.•But this negative association is significantly smaller for religious people.•The mental health benefits emanate from participation in religious activities.•Online religious services weakens association of Covid-19 and worse mental health.
Reproductive externalities are important for fertility behavior in Kenya. We identify from anthropology structural forms of social interaction operating across individuals belonging to different ...ethnic and religious groups on the number of children ever born. We use the 1998 Demographic and Health Survey, combined with primary meteorological data on Kenya, and GMM methods, to show that social interaction effects by ethnicity are important over and above an individual's characteristics such as their religion to explain variations in fertility. Our findings have implications for policy debates in Kenya and in other developing countries about ethnic, religious, and other differences in fertility behavior.
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