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Religion: productive or unproductive?

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  • WISEMAN, TRAVIS
  • YOUNG, ANDREW

Abstract

In this paper, we investigate the relationships between informal institutions – proxied for by measures of religiosity – and levels of entrepreneurial activity, both productive and unproductive, using cross-section US state-level data. In doing so, we evaluate Baumol's (1990) conjectures on the role of institutions in determining whether entrepreneurs will channel their efforts toward wealth-generating activities or toward zero- or negative-sum rent-seeking. We distinguish between measures of both the belief (e.g., the frequency of prayer) and belonging (e.g., church attendance) that have been stressed by authors such as Barro and McCleary (2003). We find that several religious variables significantly and negatively correlate with a state's productive entrepreneurship score. Alternatively, most religious variables in our data do not correlate significantly with unproductive entrepreneurship. We also find that the percent of individuals reporting as atheist/agnostic is positively associated with productive entrepreneurship.

Suggested Citation

  • Wiseman, Travis & Young, Andrew, 2014. "Religion: productive or unproductive?," Journal of Institutional Economics, Cambridge University Press, vol. 10(1), pages 21-45, March.
    • Handle: RePEc:cup:jinsec:v:10:y:2014:i:01:p:21-45_00
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    Cited by:

    1. Minh Tam Schlosky & Andrew Young, 2017. "Can foreign aid motivate institutional reform? An evaluation of the HIPC Initiative," Journal of Entrepreneurship and Public Policy, Emerald Group Publishing Limited, vol. 6(2), pages 242-258, August.
    2. Niclas Berggren & Martin Ljunge, 2021. "Good Faith and Bad Health: Self-Assessed Religiosity and Self-Assessed Health of Women and Men in Europe," Social Indicators Research: An International and Interdisciplinary Journal for Quality-of-Life Measurement, Springer, vol. 153(1), pages 323-344, January.
    3. Berggren, Niclas & Nilsson, Therese, 2016. "Tolerance in the United States: Does economic freedom transform racial, religious, political and sexual attitudes?," European Journal of Political Economy, Elsevier, vol. 45(S), pages 53-70.
    4. Travis Wiseman, 2021. "Immigration and Baumolian Entrepreneurship in the United States," Journal of Private Enterprise, The Association of Private Enterprise Education, vol. 36(Fall 2021), pages 1-26.
    5. Berggren, Niclas & Ljunge, Martin, 2017. "Does Religion Make You Sick? Evidence of a Negative Relationship between Religious Background and Health," Working Paper Series 1173, Research Institute of Industrial Economics.
    6. Zhang, Yi & Liu, Chun, 2021. "Religion and unproductive entrepreneurship: The role of risk aversion," European Journal of Political Economy, Elsevier, vol. 70(C).
    7. Małgorzata Czerny, 2016. "Wpływ zasad religijnych na ukształtowanie systemu rachunkowości / The Influence of Religious Principles on the Formation of the Accounting System," Annales. Ethics in Economic Life, University of Lodz, Faculty of Economics and Sociology, vol. 19(2), pages 111-128, May.
    8. Gregory Brock, 2020. "The real Oaxaca decomposition: convergence within Mexico’s Oaxaca region in the twenty-first century—Do types of crime and religious belief matter?," Economic Change and Restructuring, Springer, vol. 53(4), pages 543-569, November.
    9. Stephan F. Gohmann, 2016. "Why Are There so Few Breweries in the South?," Entrepreneurship Theory and Practice, , vol. 40(5), pages 1071-1092, September.
    10. Wiseman, Travis, 2016. "U.S. Shadow Economies, Corruption, and Entrepreneurship: State-level Spatial Relations," Journal of Regional Analysis and Policy, Mid-Continent Regional Science Association, vol. 46(2), December.
    11. Jasmine Mondolo, 2018. "How do informal institutions influence inward FDI? A systematic review," "Marco Fanno" Working Papers 0218, Dipartimento di Scienze Economiche "Marco Fanno".
    12. Salman Syed Ali & Hamid Hasan, 2019. "Does Religiosity Affect Multidimensional Poverty? Evidence from World Values Survey (2010-2014) هل يؤثر التدين على الفقر متعدد الأبعاد؟ أدلة من المسح العالمي للقيم (2014-2010م)," Journal of King Abdulaziz University: Islamic Economics, King Abdulaziz University, Islamic Economics Institute., vol. 32(2), pages 3-24, January.
    13. Jasmine Mondolo, 2019. "How do informal institutions influence inward FDI? A systematic review," Economia Politica: Journal of Analytical and Institutional Economics, Springer;Fondazione Edison, vol. 36(1), pages 167-204, April.
    14. Georgarakos, Dimitris & Fürth, Sven, 2015. "Household repayment behavior: The role of social capital and institutional, political, and religious beliefs," European Journal of Political Economy, Elsevier, vol. 37(C), pages 249-265.

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