IDEAS home Printed from https://ideas.repec.org/a/eee/jbvent/v28y2013i6p774-789.html
   My bibliography  Save this article

Religion, social class, and entrepreneurial choice

Author

Listed:
  • Audretsch, David B.
  • Bönte, Werner
  • Tamvada, Jagannadha Pawan

Abstract

While considerable concern has emerged about the links between religion and economic growth, little is actually known about how religion and social class impact the decision making of individuals. Using institutional theory and social dominance theory, this paper examines the influence of religion and social class on individuals' occupational choices. Based on a large-scale database from India, this paper finds that while some religions are relatively conducive to self-employment, some others have a negative impact on self-employment choices. Furthermore, individuals belonging to social classes that are lower in the social hierarchy are less likely to be self-employed. The role of both religion and social class in influencing the likelihood of choosing self-employment suggests an important link between religion, social class, and occupational decision-making.

Suggested Citation

  • Audretsch, David B. & Bönte, Werner & Tamvada, Jagannadha Pawan, 2013. "Religion, social class, and entrepreneurial choice," Journal of Business Venturing, Elsevier, vol. 28(6), pages 774-789.
    • Handle: RePEc:eee:jbvent:v:28:y:2013:i:6:p:774-789
    DOI: 10.1016/j.jbusvent.2013.06.002
    as

    Download full text from publisher

    File URL: http://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S0883902613000554
    Download Restriction: Full text for ScienceDirect subscribers only
    File URL: https://libkey.io/10.1016/j.jbusvent.2013.06.002?utm_source=ideas
    LibKey link: if access is restricted and if your library uses this service, LibKey will redirect you to where you can use your library subscription to access this item
    ---><---

    As the access to this document is restricted, you may want to search for a different version of it.

    References listed on IDEAS

    as
    1. McCleary, Rachel & Barro, Robert, 2003. "Religion and Economic Growth across Countries," Scholarly Articles 3708464, Harvard University Department of Economics.
    2. Mueller, Stephen L. & Thomas, Anisya S., 2001. "Culture and entrepreneurial potential: A nine country study of locus of control and innovativeness," Journal of Business Venturing, Elsevier, vol. 16(1), pages 51-75, January.
    3. Martin Robson, 1998. "Self-employment in the UK regions," Applied Economics, Taylor & Francis Journals, vol. 30(3), pages 313-322.
    4. Robert W. Fairlie & Alicia M. Robb, 2008. "Race and Entrepreneurial Success: Black-, Asian-, and White-Owned Businesses in the United States," MIT Press Books, The MIT Press, edition 1, volume 1, number 026206281x, December.
    5. Werner Boente & Ute Filipiak, 2011. "Financial Investments, Information Flows, and Caste Affiliation - Empirical Evidence from India," Schumpeter Discussion Papers sdp11014, Universitätsbibliothek Wuppertal, University Library.
    6. Justin van der Sluis & Mirjam van Praag & Wim Vijverberg, 2005. "Entrepreneurship Selection and Performance: A Meta-Analysis of the Impact of Education in Developing Economies," The World Bank Economic Review, World Bank, vol. 19(2), pages 225-261.
    7. Bohacek, Radim, 2006. "Financial constraints and entrepreneurial investment," Journal of Monetary Economics, Elsevier, vol. 53(8), pages 2195-2212, November.
    8. Schaltegger, Christoph A. & Torgler, Benno, 2010. "Work ethic, Protestantism, and human capital," Economics Letters, Elsevier, vol. 107(2), pages 99-101, May.
    9. Evans, David S & Leighton, Linda S, 1989. "Some Empirical Aspects of Entrepreneurship," American Economic Review, American Economic Association, vol. 79(3), pages 519-535, June.
    10. Kenneth Clark & Stephen Drinkwater & Derek Leslie, 1998. "Ethnicity and self-employment earnings in Britain 1973-95," Applied Economics Letters, Taylor & Francis Journals, vol. 5(10), pages 631-634.
    11. Minns, Chris & Rizov, Marian, 2005. "The spirit of capitalism? Ethnicity, religion, and self-employment in early 20th century Canada," Explorations in Economic History, Elsevier, vol. 42(2), pages 259-281, April.
    12. Lehrer, Evelyn L., 2008. "The Role of Religion in Economic and Demographic Behavior in the United States: A Review of the Recent Literature," IZA Discussion Papers 3541, Institute of Labor Economics (IZA).
    13. Shivani, Shradha & Mukherjee, S.K. & Sharan, Raka, 2006. "Socio-cultural influences on Indian entrepreneurs: The need for appropriate structural interventions," Journal of Asian Economics, Elsevier, vol. 17(1), pages 5-13, February.
    14. Robert W. Fairlie & Alicia M. Robb, 2007. "Why Are Black-Owned Businesses Less Successful than White-Owned Businesses? The Role of Families, Inheritances, and Business Human Capital," Journal of Labor Economics, University of Chicago Press, vol. 25(2), pages 289-323.
    15. Howard J. Wall & Yannis Georgellis, 2000. "What makes a region entrepreneurial? Evidence from Britain," The Annals of Regional Science, Springer;Western Regional Science Association, vol. 34(3), pages 385-403.
    16. Bönte, Werner & Filipiak, Ute, 2012. "Financial literacy, information flows, and caste affiliation: Empirical evidence from India," Journal of Banking & Finance, Elsevier, vol. 36(12), pages 3399-3414.
    17. Blanchflower, David G & Oswald, Andrew J, 1998. "What Makes an Entrepreneur?," Journal of Labor Economics, University of Chicago Press, vol. 16(1), pages 26-60, January.
    18. Robert W. Fairlie & Bruce D. Meyer, 1996. "Ethnic and Racial Self-Employment Differences and Possible Explanations," Journal of Human Resources, University of Wisconsin Press, vol. 31(4), pages 757-793.
    19. Bates, Timothy, 1995. "Self-employment entry across industry groups," Journal of Business Venturing, Elsevier, vol. 10(2), pages 143-156, March.
    20. Hyunsun Choi, 2010. "Religious Institutions and Ethnic Entrepreneurship: The Korean Ethnic Church as a Small Business Incubator," Economic Development Quarterly, , vol. 24(4), pages 372-383, November.
    21. Joel A. Ryman & Craig A. Turner, 2007. "The modern Weberian thesis: a short review of the literature," Journal of Enterprising Communities: People and Places in the Global Economy, Emerald Group Publishing Limited, vol. 1(2), pages 175-187, June.
    22. Block Joern H. & Hoogerheide Lennart & Thurik Roy, 2012. "Are Education and Entrepreneurial Income Endogenous? A Bayesian Analysis," Entrepreneurship Research Journal, De Gruyter, vol. 2(3), pages 1-29, July.
    23. Parker,Simon C., 2009. "The Economics of Entrepreneurship," Cambridge Books, Cambridge University Press, number 9780521728355, March.
    24. Luigi Guiso & Paola Sapienza & Luigi Zingales, 2006. "Does Culture Affect Economic Outcomes?," Journal of Economic Perspectives, American Economic Association, vol. 20(2), pages 23-48, Spring.
    25. Evelyn L. Lehrer, 2008. "The Role of religion in economic and demographic behavior in the US: a review of recent literature," Papers on Economics of Religion 08/03, Department of Economic Theory and Economic History of the University of Granada..
    26. Kihlstrom, Richard E & Laffont, Jean-Jacques, 1979. "A General Equilibrium Entrepreneurial Theory of Firm Formation Based on Risk Aversion," Journal of Political Economy, University of Chicago Press, vol. 87(4), pages 719-748, August.
    27. Peter Carswell & Deborah Rolland, 2007. "Religion and entrepreneurship in New Zealand," Journal of Enterprising Communities: People and Places in the Global Economy, Emerald Group Publishing Limited, vol. 1(2), pages 162-174, June.
    28. Shawn Cole & Thomas Sampson & Bilal Zia, 2011. "Prices or Knowledge? What Drives Demand for Financial Services in Emerging Markets?," Journal of Finance, American Finance Association, vol. 66(6), pages 1933-1967, December.
    29. Evelyn L. Lehrer, 2004. "Religion as a Determinant of Economic and Demographic Behavior in the United States," Population and Development Review, The Population Council, Inc., vol. 30(4), pages 707-726, December.
    30. Honohan, Patrick, 2008. "Cross-country variation in household access to financial services," Journal of Banking & Finance, Elsevier, vol. 32(11), pages 2493-2500, November.
    31. repec:ucp:bknber:9780226740867 is not listed on IDEAS
    32. Laurence R. Iannaccone, 1998. "Corrigenda [Introduction to the Economics of Religion]," Journal of Economic Literature, American Economic Association, vol. 36(4), pages 1941-1941, December.
    33. repec:bla:obuest:v:60:y:1998:i:3:p:383-407:a is not listed on IDEAS
    34. Parker,Simon C., 2009. "The Economics of Entrepreneurship," Cambridge Books, Cambridge University Press, number 9780521899604, March.
    35. Kim, Phillip H. & Aldrich, Howard E., 2005. "Social Capital and Entrepreneurship," Foundations and Trends(R) in Entrepreneurship, now publishers, vol. 1(2), pages 55-104, June.
    36. Kaivan Munshi & Mark Rosenzweig, 2006. "Traditional Institutions Meet the Modern World: Caste, Gender, and Schooling Choice in a Globalizing Economy," American Economic Review, American Economic Association, vol. 96(4), pages 1225-1252, September.
    37. Kumar, Alok & Page, Jeremy K. & Spalt, Oliver G., 2011. "Religious beliefs, gambling attitudes, and financial market outcomes," Journal of Financial Economics, Elsevier, vol. 102(3), pages 671-708.
    38. Rachel M. McCleary & Robert J. Barro, 2006. "Religion and Economy," Journal of Economic Perspectives, American Economic Association, vol. 20(2), pages 49-72, Spring.
    39. Craig S. Galbraith & Devon M. Galbraith, 2007. "An empirical note on entrepreneurial activity, intrinsic religiosity and economic growth," Journal of Enterprising Communities: People and Places in the Global Economy, Emerald Group Publishing Limited, vol. 1(2), pages 188-201, June.
    40. Garry D. Bruton & David Ahlstrom & Han–Lin Li, 2010. "Institutional Theory and Entrepreneurship: Where Are We Now and Where Do We Need to Move in the Future?," Entrepreneurship Theory and Practice, , vol. 34(3), pages 421-440, May.
    41. Robert J. Barro & Rachel McCleary, 2003. "Religion and Economic Growth," NBER Working Papers 9682, National Bureau of Economic Research, Inc.
    42. Laurence R. Iannaccone, 1998. "Introduction to the Economics of Religion," Journal of Economic Literature, American Economic Association, vol. 36(3), pages 1465-1495, September.
    Full references (including those not matched with items on IDEAS)

    Most related items

    These are the items that most often cite the same works as this one and are cited by the same works as this one.
    1. Sari Pekkala Kerr & William R. Kerr & Tina Xu, 2017. "Personality Traits of Entrepreneurs: A Review of Recent Literature," NBER Working Papers 24097, National Bureau of Economic Research, Inc.
    2. Rietveld, C.A. & van Burg, E., 2013. "Religious beliefs and entrepreneurship among Dutch protestants," ERIM Report Series Research in Management ERS-2013-015-STR, Erasmus Research Institute of Management (ERIM), ERIM is the joint research institute of the Rotterdam School of Management, Erasmus University and the Erasmus School of Economics (ESE) at Erasmus University Rotterdam.
    3. David B. Audretsch & Werner Boente & Jagannadha Pawan Tamvada, 2007. "Religion and Entrepreneurship," Jena Economics Research Papers 2007-075, Friedrich-Schiller-University Jena.
    4. Yaron Zelekha & Gil Avnimelech & Eyal Sharabi, 2014. "Religious institutions and entrepreneurship," Small Business Economics, Springer, vol. 42(4), pages 747-767, April.
    5. Cornelius A. Rietveld & Brigitte Hoogendoorn, 2022. "The mediating role of values in the relationship between religion and entrepreneurship," Small Business Economics, Springer, vol. 58(3), pages 1309-1335, March.
    6. Brigitte Hoogendoorn & Cornelius A. Rietveld & André Stel, 2016. "Belonging, believing, bonding, and behaving: the relationship between religion and business ownership at the country level," Journal of Evolutionary Economics, Springer, vol. 26(3), pages 519-550, July.
    7. van Hoorn, André & Maseland, Robbert, 2013. "Does a Protestant work ethic exist? Evidence from the well-being effect of unemployment," Journal of Economic Behavior & Organization, Elsevier, vol. 91(C), pages 1-12.
    8. Nadia Simoes & Nuno Crespo & Sandrina B. Moreira, 2016. "Individual Determinants Of Self-Employment Entry: What Do We Really Know?," Journal of Economic Surveys, Wiley Blackwell, vol. 30(4), pages 783-806, September.
    9. Charles Noussair & Stefan Trautmann & Gijs Kuilen & Nathanael Vellekoop, 2013. "Risk aversion and religion," Journal of Risk and Uncertainty, Springer, vol. 47(2), pages 165-183, October.
    10. Kirchmaier, Isadora & Prüfer, Jens & Trautmann, Stefan T., 2018. "Religion, moral attitudes & economic behavior," Other publications TiSEM 669f51df-0d23-4657-8b16-5, Tilburg University, School of Economics and Management.
    11. David B. Audretsch & Martin Obschonka & Samuel D. Gosling & Jeff Potter, 2017. "A new perspective on entrepreneurial regions: linking cultural identity with latent and manifest entrepreneurship," Small Business Economics, Springer, vol. 48(3), pages 681-697, March.
    12. Kirchmaier, Isadora & Prüfer, Jens & Trautmann, Stefan T., 2018. "Religion, moral attitudes and economic behavior," Journal of Economic Behavior & Organization, Elsevier, vol. 148(C), pages 282-300.
    13. Magnus Lofstrom, 2013. "Does self-employment increase the economic well-being of low-skilled workers?," Small Business Economics, Springer, vol. 40(4), pages 933-952, May.
    14. Matthias Basedau & Simone Gobien & Sebastian Prediger, 2018. "The Multidimensional Effects Of Religion On Socioeconomic Development: A Review Of The Empirical Literature," Journal of Economic Surveys, Wiley Blackwell, vol. 32(4), pages 1106-1133, September.
    15. Sadok El Ghoul & Omrane Guedhami & Yang Ni & Jeffrey Pittman & Samir Saadi, 2012. "Does Religion Matter to Equity Pricing?," Journal of Business Ethics, Springer, vol. 111(4), pages 491-518, December.
    16. Hohyun Kim & Kyoung T. Kim & Seung H. Han, 2021. "Religious differences and households' investment decisions," Journal of Financial Research, Southern Finance Association;Southwestern Finance Association, vol. 44(4), pages 753-788, December.
    17. Baele, Lieven & Farooq, Moazzam & Ongena, Steven, 2014. "Of religion and redemption: Evidence from default on Islamic loans," Journal of Banking & Finance, Elsevier, vol. 44(C), pages 141-159.
    18. Baele, L. & Farooq, M. & Ongena, S., 2012. "Of Religion and Redemption : Evidence from Default on Islamic Loans (Replaces CentER DP 2010-136)," Discussion Paper 2012-014, Tilburg University, Center for Economic Research.
    19. León, Anja Köbrich & Pfeifer, Christian, 2017. "Religious activity, risk-taking preferences and financial behaviour: Empirical evidence from German survey data," Journal of Behavioral and Experimental Economics (formerly The Journal of Socio-Economics), Elsevier, vol. 69(C), pages 99-107.
    20. Robert W. Fairlie & Javier Miranda, 2017. "Taking the Leap: The Determinants of Entrepreneurs Hiring Their First Employee," Journal of Economics & Management Strategy, Wiley Blackwell, vol. 26(1), pages 3-34, February.

    Corrections

    All material on this site has been provided by the respective publishers and authors. You can help correct errors and omissions. When requesting a correction, please mention this item's handle: RePEc:eee:jbvent:v:28:y:2013:i:6:p:774-789. See general information about how to correct material in RePEc.

    If you have authored this item and are not yet registered with RePEc, we encourage you to do it here. This allows to link your profile to this item. It also allows you to accept potential citations to this item that we are uncertain about.

    If CitEc recognized a bibliographic reference but did not link an item in RePEc to it, you can help with this form .

    If you know of missing items citing this one, you can help us creating those links by adding the relevant references in the same way as above, for each refering item. If you are a registered author of this item, you may also want to check the "citations" tab in your RePEc Author Service profile, as there may be some citations waiting for confirmation.

    For technical questions regarding this item, or to correct its authors, title, abstract, bibliographic or download information, contact: Catherine Liu (email available below). General contact details of provider: http://www.elsevier.com/locate/jbusvent .

    Please note that corrections may take a couple of weeks to filter through the various RePEc services.

    IDEAS is a RePEc service. RePEc uses bibliographic data supplied by the respective publishers.