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Is Hanukkah Responsive to Christmas?

Author

Listed:
  • Oren Rigbi

    (Department of Economics,Stanford University and NBER)

  • Ran Abramitzky

    (Department of Economics,Stanford University and NBER)

  • Liran Einav

    (Department of Economics,Stanford University and NBER)

Abstract

We study the extent to which religious activity responds to the presence and activity of other religions. Specifically, we employ individual-level survey data and county-level expenditure data to examine the extent to which Hanukkah celebration among U.S. Jews is driven by the presence of Christmas. We find that (1) Jews with children at home are more likely to celebrate Hanukkah than Jews without children; (2) The correlation of having children at home with Hanukkah celebration is higher for reform Jews than for orthodox Jews, and is higher for strongly-identified Jews. In contrast, this differential correlation is not present for other Jewish holidays; (3) Jewish-related expenditures in Hanukkah are higher in counties with lower share of Jews and in counties with higher share of Catholics. All these findings are consistent with an hypothesis that celebration of religious holidays is designed not only to worship and enjoy, but also to provide a counterbalance for children against competing cultural influences.

Suggested Citation

  • Oren Rigbi & Ran Abramitzky & Liran Einav, 2012. "Is Hanukkah Responsive to Christmas?," Working Papers 1203, Ben-Gurion University of the Negev, Department of Economics.
    • Handle: RePEc:bgu:wpaper:1203
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    References listed on IDEAS

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    Cited by:

    1. Eiji Yamamura & Yoshiro Tsutsui & Fumio Ohtake, 2023. "Would Monetary Incentives to COVID-19 vaccination reduce motivation?," Papers 2311.11828, arXiv.org.
    2. Cohen-Zada, Danny & Elder, Todd, 2018. "Religious pluralism and the transmission of religious values through education," Journal of Economic Behavior & Organization, Elsevier, vol. 150(C), pages 325-349.
    3. Danny Cohen-Zada & Todd Elder, 2012. "Religious Pluralism, Religious Market Shares and the Demand for Religious Schooling," Working Papers 1201, Ben-Gurion University of the Negev, Department of Economics.
    4. Laura Birg & Anna Goeddeke, 2016. "Christmas Economics—A Sleigh Ride," Economic Inquiry, Western Economic Association International, vol. 54(4), pages 1980-1984, October.

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    More about this item

    Keywords

    Religions; Hanukkah; Identity;
    All these keywords.

    JEL classification:

    • J15 - Labor and Demographic Economics - - Demographic Economics - - - Economics of Minorities, Races, Indigenous Peoples, and Immigrants; Non-labor Discrimination
    • Z12 - Other Special Topics - - Cultural Economics - - - Religion

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