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Religion and the European Union

Author

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  • Benito Arruñada
  • Matthias Krapf

Abstract

We review a recent literature on cultural differences across euro member states.We point out that this literature fails to address cultural differences between Protestants and Catholics, which are likely a major underlying reason for cross-country differences. We argue that confessional culture explains why Catholic countries tend to have weaker institutions but are more open to economic and political integration. EU policies after the economic crisis looked clumsy and failed to address all concerns, but were viable, caused only a manageable amount of serious backlash and tied in well with Europe’s cultural diversity, also providing scope for learning and adaption.

Suggested Citation

  • Benito Arruñada & Matthias Krapf, 2018. "Religion and the European Union," Working Papers 1025, Barcelona School of Economics.
  • Handle: RePEc:bge:wpaper:1025
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    References listed on IDEAS

    as
    1. Adrian Chadi & Matthias Krapf, 2017. "The Protestant Fiscal Ethic: Religious Confession And Euro Skepticism In Germany," Economic Inquiry, Western Economic Association International, vol. 55(4), pages 1813-1832, October.
    2. Christopher L. Colvin & Matthew McCracken, 2017. "Work Ethic, Social Ethic, no Ethic: Measuring the Economic Values of Modern Christians," Journal of Applied Econometrics, John Wiley & Sons, Ltd., vol. 32(5), pages 1043-1053, August.
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    5. Bordo, Michael & Istrefi, Klodiana, 2023. "Perceived FOMC: The making of hawks, doves and swingers," Journal of Monetary Economics, Elsevier, vol. 136(C), pages 125-143.
    6. Aleberto Alesina & Guido Tabellini & Francesco Trebbi, 2017. "Is Europe an Optimal Political Area?," Brookings Papers on Economic Activity, Economic Studies Program, The Brookings Institution, vol. 48(1 (Spring), pages 169-234.
    7. Rubin,Jared, 2017. "Rulers, Religion, and Riches," Cambridge Books, Cambridge University Press, number 9781108400053.
    8. Markus K. Brunnermeier & Harold James & Jean-Pierre Landau, 2016. "The Euro and the Battle of Ideas," Economics Books, Princeton University Press, edition 1, number 10828.
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    10. Benito Arruñada, 2010. "Protestants and Catholics: Similar Work Ethic, Different Social Ethic," Economic Journal, Royal Economic Society, vol. 120(547), pages 890-918, September.
    11. Becker, Sascha O. & Pfaff, Steven & Rubin, Jared, 2016. "Causes and consequences of the Protestant Reformation," Explorations in Economic History, Elsevier, vol. 62(C), pages 1-25.
    12. Galofré-Vilà, Gregori & Meissner, Christopher M. & McKee, Martin & Stuckler, David, 2021. "Austerity and the Rise of the Nazi Party," The Journal of Economic History, Cambridge University Press, vol. 81(1), pages 81-113, March.
    13. Benito Arruñada, 2003. "Specialization and rent-seeking in moral enforcement: The case of confession," Economics Working Papers 653, Department of Economics and Business, Universitat Pompeu Fabra, revised Jul 2009.
    Full references (including those not matched with items on IDEAS)

    Citations

    Blog mentions

    As found by EconAcademics.org, the blog aggregator for Economics research:
    1. Religion and the European Union
      by maximorossi in NEP-LTV blog on 2018-04-03 14:05:33
    2. Religion and the European Union
      by maximorossi in NEP-LTV blog on 2018-05-17 20:24:46

    Citations

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    Cited by:

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    2. Li, Jian, 2022. "Financial risk-taking, religiosity and denomination heterogeneity," Journal of Empirical Finance, Elsevier, vol. 66(C), pages 74-98.
    3. Barbara Mazur & Łukasz Sułkowski, 2020. "Management Students Values Depending on Religion—Comparative Research from Poland," Social Sciences, MDPI, vol. 9(2), pages 1-15, February.
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    5. Abellán, Miguel, 2023. "Catholics, Protestants and Muslims: Similar work ethics, different social and political ethics," Journal of Comparative Economics, Elsevier, vol. 51(3), pages 778-815.
    6. Pál Czeglédi, 2023. "Why is the West unique in linking religiosity to market friendliness?," Economic Affairs, Wiley Blackwell, vol. 43(1), pages 73-88, February.

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    More about this item

    Keywords

    European Union; Religion; values; Culture;
    All these keywords.

    JEL classification:

    • Z12 - Other Special Topics - - Cultural Economics - - - Religion
    • F15 - International Economics - - Trade - - - Economic Integration

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