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Religiosity and economic performance: Micro-econometric evidence from Tibetan area

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  • Tu, Qin
  • Bulte, Erwin
  • Tan, Shuhao

Abstract

We use results from a household survey to explore the relation between religiosity and our proxy for income among herders in rural Tibet. Our main results are twofold. First, there exists a positive relation between the intensity of religious beliefs (the main 'output' of the religious production process) and income -- beliefs about the afterlife affect production and savings decisions today. Second, and perhaps more surprising, we find an inverted U-shaped relation between religious 'inputs' (time and money spent in the temple) and income. While it is possible to use too much resources as religious inputs, we find that the great majority of the respondents is on the upward sloping part of the curve linking economic performance to religious inputs. We present tentative evidence that the positive impact of religiosity and income may be explained by status (reputation) and information effects associated with producing religiosity.

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  • Tu, Qin & Bulte, Erwin & Tan, Shuhao, 2011. "Religiosity and economic performance: Micro-econometric evidence from Tibetan area," China Economic Review, Elsevier, vol. 22(1), pages 55-63, March.
    • Handle: RePEc:eee:chieco:v:22:y:2011:i:1:p:55-63
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    2. Zhu, Chen & Shen, Jim Huangnan & Lee, Chien-Chiang & Liu, Shouying, 2022. "Does religion belief matter to self-employment of rural elderly? Evidence from China," Journal of Asian Economics, Elsevier, vol. 83(C).
    3. Nurrachmi, Rininta, 2016. "Religion and Economic Performance," MPRA Paper 85582, University Library of Munich, Germany, revised Mar 2018.
    4. Jeanet Sinding Bentzen, 2013. "Origins of Religiousness: The Role of Natural Disasters," Discussion Papers 13-02, University of Copenhagen. Department of Economics.
    5. Lijia Wang & Zeng Tang & Qisheng Feng & Xin Wang, 2022. "Informal Institutions and Herders’ Grazing Intensity Reduction Behavior: Evidence from Pastoral Areas in China," Land, MDPI, vol. 11(9), pages 1-15, August.
    6. Opfinger, Matthias & Gundlach, Erich, 2011. "Religiosity as a determinant of happiness," Open Access Publications from Kiel Institute for the World Economy 48360, Kiel Institute for the World Economy (IfW Kiel).
    7. Asad Ur Rehman & Muhammad Shoaib & Mohsin Javed & Zuhair Abbas & Ayesha Nawal & Roman Zámečník, 2022. "Understanding Revisit Intention towards Religious Attraction of Kartarpur Temple: Moderation Analysis of Religiosity," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 14(14), pages 1-19, July.
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