2. How has the religiosity of
governments or of their citizens
affected a nation’s economic
development?
3. Background
The “Protestant Ethic” –Weber
• Specific tenants emerging from
the Reformation lead to economic
growth
• Spread of Protestantism
influenced the development of
modern capitalism
4. Background
“Islamic Economics”
• Refers to codification of Muslim financial trends such as the
importance of public property and a ban on interest
• Extremely recent academic conception
• Western and Capitalist bias has led to some concluding Islam
is not “conducive to growth.”
5. Hypotheses
■ Religiosity (of both kinds) will not relate to
economic development.
■ Protestant Countries experience higher rates of
growth.
8. Literature Review
Barro and McCleary (2003)
• “Belief rather than Belonging”
Marcus Noland (2005)
• Mostly inconclusive
• “If anything, Islam promotes growth”
Wonsub Eum (2011)
• Religious variable do not have a consistent impact
9. Religiosity Data
From The Association of Religion Data Archives
Government Religiosity (“Religion and State Constitutions,”
2002)
• One categorical variable summing up a range of
government procedures and their relationship with
religion
10. Religiosity Data
From The Association of Religion Data Archives
Population Religiosity (“Religious Characteristics of States,”
2014)
• The number of citizens in a given country who identify
with a religion divided by the total population
11. Economic Data
FromTheWorld Bank’s Economic Indicators
Annual Growth of Gross Domestic Product per Capita
• Merged with Religiosity Data to provide 837 complete
country-years with all three variable measures.
19. Conclusions
■ There is a statistically significant relationship
between how religious a population is and GDP
growth
■ A religiously Muslim population experiences
these effects on a higher level
20. Implications
■ “Protestant Ethic” in other religions?
■ Social cohesion, rather than religious tenants
themselves, that lead to economic prosperity?
Editor's Notes
https://www.thinglink.com/scene/657998854917980162 - Martin Luther and his 95 theses
http://www.freemalaysiatoday.com/category/business/2014/11/23/religion-and-risk-drive-islamic-finance-boom/ - Arab coins
http://www.goodreads.com/book/show/74176.The_Protestant_Ethic_and_the_Spirit_of_Capitalism – Weber’s “The Protestant Ethic and the Spirit of Capitalism”
