The effect of income on religiousness

Open Access
Authors
Publication date 2015
Journal American Economic Journal: Applied Economics
Volume | Issue number 7 | 3
Pages (from-to) 178-195
Organisations
  • Faculty of Economics and Business (FEB) - Amsterdam School of Economics Research Institute (ASE-RI)
Abstract How does income affect religiousness? Using self-collected survey data, we estimate the effects of income on religious behavior. As a source of exogenous income variation we use a change in the eligibility criteria for a government cash transfer in Ecuador and apply a regression discontinuity strategy to estimate causal effects. We find significant effects of income on religiousness. Families that earn more go to church more often. Families that earn more are also more likely to be members of an Evangelical community rather than of the mainstream Catholic Church.
Document type Article
Language English
Published at https://doi.org/10.1257/app.20140162
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