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ABSTRACTS:
Religion, Economics, and Culture 2004 

(in order of appearance on conference program)

 

 

 

RELIGION'S ROLE IN THE RULE OF LAW

 

Charles M. North (Baylor University) and Carl R. Gwin (Baylor University)
 

Abstract:

The literature on economic growth suggests that strong legal institutions and a commitment to the rule of law are strongly associated with higher levels of growth.  Similarly, recent research suggests that religion also plays an important role in generating economic growth, but the linkages between religion and the mechanisms leading to growth are still relatively unexplored.  In this paper, we explore the interconnections between religion and the rule of law as one of the mechanisms that spurs growth and development.  To measure the rule of law, we will use a variety of indexes and other data from several sources.  We will analyze the country level partial correlations between overall religiosity and the rule of law in cross-sectional data(employing appropriate controls for other key factors affecting the rule of law and legal institutions).  We also will analyze any differential impact that may exist across differing religious traditions, based upon the distribution of religions in each country and also on each country's dominant religious tradition (if any).

 

 

 

THE COST OF BIGOTRY:  THE EDUCATIONAL AND ECONOMIC CONSEQUENCES OF RESTRICTING MISSIONS.

Robert D. Woodberry (University of Texas at Austin)

Abstract:

This paper analyzes the differential restriction of Protestant missionary activity by various colonial and post-colonial governments.  Because missionaries have been so central to fostering formal education in the non-western world, countries and regions where Protestant missionaries have been restricted lag far behind in their levels of formal education.  In fact, controlling for historic Protestant missionary activity often removes the impact of GDP on current elementary education rates.  This has a number of long-term economic consequences. 

 

 

 

THE CITIES OF GOD VERSUS THE COUNTRIES OF EARTH: THE RESTRICTION OF RELIGIOUS FREEDOM (RRF)

 

Brian Grim (Pennsylvania State University)

 

Abstract:

 

This research empirically demonstrates that the Cold War paradigm, which viewed State Atheism as the main force opposing religious freedom, can no longer provide an adequate analytical framework to understand the forces which seek to limit religious freedom and dominate the world today.  I show that the main regulator of religious freedom today is not the legal/policy regulations of countries, but the hegemonic socio-religious forces of religions.  This new paradigm has important policy implications. 

 

Based on this new understanding, I construct a valid and reliable index of the restriction of religious freedom (RRF) in 196 different countries.  Key terms are defined at the start since there are no agreed upon definitions for ‘freedom,’ ‘religion,’ or ‘religious freedom.’  The data used to conduct this analysis are new.  They are my quantitative coding of the 196 qualitative reports which comprise the 838-page U.S. State Department annual International Religious Freedom Report, released on December 18, 2003.  I use them because of their fresh currency, breadth of coverage, incorporation of trend information, and depth of inquiry specifically related to religious freedom.  Though such data represent a U.S. State Department perspective, the methods and analyses employed in this study address this potential bias.  The RRF’s reliability is established by its significant correlation to other international measures that theoretically or directly relate to religious freedom, including economic freedom, civil and political freedom, armed conflict, human development, and other measures of religious freedom.

 

 

 

WILLOW CREEK OR HOLLOW CREEK? COMMITMENT TO WILLOW-CREEK COMMUNITIES IN THE NETHERLANDS

 

Erik Sengers (Theological University of Kampen)

     

Abstract:

 

Willow Creek has the vision of bringing back the world to Christ and His church by paying attention to the unchurched and their needs. In the United States Willow Creek claims big success, but is it also able to realize this vision in Europe? To answer the question, several aspects of commitment to communities belonging to the mainstream protestant denomination in the Netherlands that are member of Willow Creek will be analyzed. The objective is to see if these Willow Creek communities perform better than the surrounding (non-WC) communities. This paper is part of a broader research project on renewal movements in Dutch mainstream churches that tries to assess their successes in the Dutch religious market and thus to test several assumptions of rational choice theory.

 

 

EXPLAINING EVANGELICAL GROWTH IN UKRAINE:  SHIFTING STRATEGIES OF WESTERN RELIGIOUS ORGANIZATIONS

 

Catherine Wanner (Pennsylvania State University)

Abstract:

 

Immigrants of evangelical faith from the Russian Empire to the U.S. who returned to their homeland to missionize played a critical role in the spread of Pentecostalism and Baptism in the Russian Empire. With the creation of the Soviet Union, sharp repressive measures ensued for all believers in keeping with the state's avowedly atheistic ideology. Evangelical communities not only survived, but grew during the Soviet period, although many of them led an underground, illegal existence.  Still, they managed to interact with and appeal for help from Evangelicals in the West.  These early efforts of collaboration and assistance paved the way for the massive interventions that quickly ensued between Western missionary organizations and Soviet Evangelical communities as soon as a political window of opportunity appeared in the late 1980s.  This paper compares the nature of interaction between Western and Soviet Evangelical communities under the confines of the Soviet regime with what it became after 1991.  Specifically, it addresses how this encounter has shaped issues of morality, religious practice and communal life during this period of transition.

 

 

 

RELIGION IN EUROPE: ONE THEME, MANY VARIATIONS?

 

David Voas (University of Manchester)

 

Abstract:

 

Europe is highly diverse, and yet the disparate nations of the continent seem to be following a common trajectory of religious decline.  To what extent are these countries in fact on similar paths?  If boundaries still matter, are the most important ones those of province, country, region, faith, or something else?  Answers will be sought in the European Social Survey (ESS), a new program covering more than 20 nations. The first round of data collection took place in 2002/2003 and the results have just become available.  The standards of design, execution and cross-national comparability are exceptionally high.  Preliminary findings suggest that most countries have undergone generational transitions in religiosity.  It is also apparent that private spirituality is considerably stronger than institutional observance.  There are interesting comparisons to be made with findings of other cross-national studies, including those by Inglehart and by Iannaccone.

 

TEEN CHILDBEARING AND COMMUNITY RELIGIOSITY

 

Linda Loury (Tufts University)

 

Abstract:

 

This paper shows that communities with larger fractions of Catholics and

Conservative Protestants have lower rates of teen childbearing ceteris paribus. The

pattern of results does not appear to result from spurious correlation with unobservables but rather can be explained by a modified version of Akerlof’s conformity model. This research suggests that community variables that may affect individuals extend beyond the standard measures of neighborhood socioeconomic characteristics. It provides indirect evidence in favor of policy interventions that explicitly seek to alter attitudes and norms rather than relying solely on providing information or structuring financial incentives to change behavior.

 

 

 

RELIGION AND FERTILITY IN INDIA: THE ROLE OF SON PREFERENCE AND DAUGHTER AVERSION

 

Vani Borooah (University of Ulster) and Sriya Iyer (University of Cambridge)

 

Abstract:

 

This paper brings together the two issues of son preference and contraceptive usage to provide an explanation for larger Muslim, relative to Hindu, families in India.  We extend the notion of ‘son preference’ to the complementary concept of ‘daughter aversion’: just as sons bring ‘benefits’ to their parents, daughters impose ‘costs’ and complementing a desire to have sons is a desire not to have daughters.   Consequently, the desire for sons tends to increase family size while the fear of daughters limits it.  A formal model, in which these two countervailing forces act so as to determine equilibrium family size and composition, is developed. We support this argument using two types of evidence. The first is qualitative evidence, based upon a careful analysis of Hindu and Islamic religious sources, about differences between Hindus and Muslims in their attitudes towards sons and daughters and towards contraception.   The second type of evidence is quantitative evidence, based on data for 10,548 women, who had terminated their fertility and who might, therefore, be regarded as having attained their equilibrium family size and composition.  We conclude that while Muslim fertility in India is higher than that of Hindus, an important, albeit neglected, issue is not so much that Muslims have more children than Hindus, but that they treat them better on account of having significantly lower levels of daughter aversion.

 

 

 

HOW COMMUNITY INSTITUTIONS CREATE ECONOMIC ADVANTAGE:

JEWISH DIAMOND MERCHANTS IN NEW YORK

 

Barak D. Richman (Duke University)

 

 

Abstract:

 

This paper employs an efficiency analysis to explain Jewish predominance in the diamond industry.  Diamonds are portable, easily concealable, and extremely valuable, rendering courts unable to police diamond theft or credibly enforce diamond credit sales.  Since credit sales are highly preferable to simultaneous exchange, success in the industry requires an ability to enforce executory agreements that are beyond the reach of public courts.

 Relying on a reputation mechanism that is supported by distinctive set of industry, family, and community institutions, Jewish diamond merchants have been able to enforce such contracts and have thus maintained industry leadership for several centuries.  An industry arbitration system publicizes instances where promises are not kept.  Intergenerational legacies induce merchants to deal honestly through their very last transaction, so their children inherit valuable livelihoods.  And the participation of Ultra-Orthodox Jews, for whom participation in their communities is paramount, serve important value-added services as diamond cutters and brokers without posing the threat of theft and flight.

 

 

 

ECONOMIC GROWTH AND RELIGIOUS PRODUCTION EFFICIENCY

 

Esa Mangeloja (University of Jyvaskyla, Finland)

 

 

Abstract:

 

During the past few years, empirical economic growth modeling has emerged by constructing and testing numerous model and explanatory variable alternatives. One of the most promising recent idea consists that also religious aspects should be included as explanatory variables into economic growth models, therefore capturing influences of culture, moral and ethics. Moral institutions and ethics affect the economic development, as for example, trust and honesty are essential requirements for emerging economic activity. Religious activities and beliefs are documented over a long time period in many Western economies, making quantitative empirical time series data available. Following the idea and argumentation by Barro and McCleary (2003a, 2002), "religious production efficiency" measure is constructed and used in economic growth regressions for 8 OECD countries, proxying quantifiable dimensions of culture. By using panel estimation methods and additionally time-series estimations for each country, rather than usual cross-country regressions, more information is gained concerning the country specific growth and religion characteristics. Empirical evidence from the panel data estimations seems to suggest that religious beliefs attain more relevance than religious attendance. Religious production efficiency, containing both belief and activity aspects, was not found statistically significant with panel data or with individual 8 OECD countries growth model, except for Finland. The effects were pretty robust when different model alternatives were tested. Significant coefficient for Finland can be explained by referring to Finland's unique religious market properties, as the level of religious beliefs have historically been unusually high, and continue to be, in Finland. On the other hand, attendance in religious activities has followed the typical Northern-European decreasing trend and levels. Nevertheless, defectiveness of theoretical background for analyzing the relationship between economic and religious phenomenon is apparent. More exact understanding on the links between these concepts are essentially needed to better model the economic consequences of cultural, religious and moral variables. Therefore, several suggestions are presented to gain better growth information in the future empirical growth modeling, including better theoretical background, more robust estimation techniques and longer data.

 

 

 

 

THE ENTREPRENEURIAL ETHIC OF THE SIKHS: AN ANALYTIC NARRATIVE

 

Nathaniel Paxson (George Mason University)

 

Abstract: 

 

This paper employs rational choice and institutional economic theorizing to the understanding of sectarian groups, in particular the Sikh religion of Northern India.  The Sikh religion exhibits many striking characteristics making for an interesting case study to showcase the importance of religious institutions, sectarian practices, reputation and self-enforcement mechanisms, signalling, entrepreneurship, collective production and human capital.  Religious affiliation provides goods to sect members which can be modelled economically as club goods.  Religion also can be understood as setting forth institutional structures which foster incentives and channel behavior in various predictable ways.  This paper will explore how particular sect practices generate formal and informal norms that positively affect trade with non sectarian members.  Building on the pioneering work of Iannaccone, Coleman, Akerlof, Coase and Weber, particular emphasis will be placed on mechanisms of exchange that lower transactions costs and enlarge gains from trade.

 

 

 

 

MEASURING RELIGIOUS DIFFERENCES:  THE FUNDAMENTAL IMPORTANCE OF GOD’S CHARACTER

 

Christopher Bader (Baylor University) and Paul Froese (Baylor University)

 

 

Abstract:

 

Weber famously argued that different religious worldviews generate distinct behaviors which in turn impact economic, political and social systems.  More contemporary researchers categorize religious believers as “fundamentalists”, “evangelicals”, and “religious conservatives” to suggest distinct religious sensibilities.  While these religious types are certainly evocative and sometimes enlightening, attempts to actually measure religious differences are few.    The broad concept of  “religious tension” was introduced by sociologists and economists to systematically convey variation in the doctrinal strictness of religious groups.  Nevertheless, the concept of religious tension lumps together distinct conceptual components, namely, indicators of belief with measures of behavior.   In this paper, we provide a more concise measure of varieties of religious belief which correlates highly with the many and varied indicators of religious tension.   We conclude that a simple measure of an individual’s conception of god is a more meaningful and powerful way to categorize religious types than any previous offering.

 

 

BEYOND BELIEF: ATHEISM, AGNOSTICISM, AND THEISTIC CERTAINTY IN THE UNITED STATES

 

Darren E. Sherkat (Southern Illinois University)

 

Abstract:

 

Atheism, agnosticism, and undoubting belief in a one true god are pivotal issues distinguishing religious adherents. Shifts in the rates of atheism are a critical issue in the future trajectory of the market share of religious goods, while variations in levels of doubt will determine the proportion of weak believers whose faiths are likely incapable of influencing other social factors such as political mobilization, family structure and functioning, and health and well being. In this paper I provide the first systematic analysis of the predictors of relative levels of belief in God, using data from the General Social Surveys. I employ multinomial logistic regression to test the effects of social status, gender, race, regional location, residential factors, family structure and denominational affiliation on the odds of being an atheist, agnostic, or a true believer. My analyses examine whether or not there is a trend in these belief configurations, and if cohort variations might evidence a coming shift in the relative rates of belief and unbelief.

 

 

 

RELIGIOUS AFFILIATION AND INDIVIDUALS’ TRADE AND IMMIGRATION-POLICY PREFERENCES

 

Joseph P. Daniels (Marquette University) and Marc von der Ruhr (St. Norbert College)

 

Abstract:

 

Using individual survey data of U.S. residents, we test the impact of religious affiliation on attitudes toward trade and immigration policies.  Our results show that, although there is a great deal of heterogeneity among the major Protestant denominations, in general religious affiliation is a significant determinant of individual international-policy preferences.  Specifically, members of the three largest U.S. denominations, Catholics, Baptists, and Methodists, are more likely to favor policies that restrict imports into the United States.  We find evidence that views on these issues differ among pre-Vatican II Catholics and post-Vatican II Catholics, and among Baptist and non-Baptist African Americans.  Hence, religion is an important form of identity and may represent an important source of resistance to greater economic integration.

 

 

 

RISK AND RELIGIOUS CHOICE: EVIDENCE FROM PANEL DATA

 

Brian J. Osoba (West Virginia University)

 

Abstract:

 

Previous studies on the economics of religion have postulated that individuals may practice religion as a risk management strategy. This logic follows, to some degree, "Pascal's Wager," an argument employed by Blaise Pascal in his Pensées in the late 1600s. Empirical evidence of this strategy, however, has been limited due primarily to a lack of data. Using panel data from the 1970 to 1972 waves of the Panel Study of Income Dynamics, I find that risk-averse individuals express religiosity more strongly (in the form of church attendance) than risk-loving individuals. This provides strong evidence for the theory that religion is a rational risk management strategy.

 

 

 

DESECRATION AND RESISTANCE

 

Ron Hassner (Stanford University)

 

 

Abstract:

 

Under what conditions can political rulers enforce unilateral policies in the religious sphere?  In the absence of comprehensive empirical datasets, this paper proposes to address the relationship between political decision-making and religious resistance by examining variations in outcomes across three extreme cases.  I examine three of the most radical attacks on majority religious movements in European history: the abolition of English monasticism by Henry VIII, the attacks on Catholicism during the French Revolution and the assault on the Russian Orthodox Church in Soviet Russia.  These cases raise three interlocking riddles. First, why did the majority of believers in all three cases acquiesce to the attacks on their religion?  Second, in the first two cases isolated violent rebellions erupted that soon threatened the very stability of the oppressing regime (the "Pilgrimage of Grace" and the rising in the Vendee, respectively).  Why did these uprisings occur and how can we explain their location and timing? Finally, why did no widespread dissent occur in the Soviet case?  Aside from obvious power political considerations, the answers to these questions highlight the crucial role played by religious leaders in coordinating, justifying and leading violent rebellions.  In each of the three cases examined, I trace instances of rebellion and acquiescence to the structure of the relevant religious movement and to the nature of the relationship between religious actors and the laity.

 

 

 

 

CLUB GOODS AND GROUP IDENTITY: EVIDENCE FROM ISLAMIC RESURGENCE DURING THE INDONESIAN FINANCIAL CRISIS

 

Daniel L. Chen (Massachusetts Institute of Technology)

 

Abstract:

 

This paper exploits relative price shocks induced by the Indonesian financial crisis to investigate whether a causal relationship between economic distress and religious intensity exists and, if so, why. Wetland owners (rice-growers) suffered smaller than average drops in expenditures during the crisis while government workers suffered larger than average drops in expenditures. Building on this fact, I use wetland ownership and government occupation as instruments to estimate the impact of economic distress on religious intensity. Estimates suggest households that experience a $1 decline in monthly per-capita nonfood expenditures are 2% more likely to increase Koran study and 1% more likely to switch a child to Islamic school but no more likely to increase participation in other social activities. The average household suffered a $4.70 decline in monthly per-capita nonfood expenditure. The results seem attributable to the role of religion as ex-post social insurance: credit availability reduces the effect of economic distress on religious intensity by roughly 80%. Religious intensity also appears associated with communal violence. I explain these findings in a model where religious intensity represents the degree of social insurance in which people participate and strong social sanctions facilitate religion's function as ex-post insurance. Together, these results provide evidence that religious intensity and communal violence may respond to economic forces and suggest alleviating risk may mitigate fundamentalist tendencies.

 

 

 

Rational Martyrs vs. Hard Targets: Evidence on the Tactical Use of Suicide Attacks

Eli Berman (UC San Diego, NBER) and David Laitin (Stanford)

Abstract: Why suicide attacks? Though rebels often kill coreligionists, they seldom use suicide attacks to do so. Though rebels typically target poor countries, suicide attacks are just as likely to target rich democracies. Though many groups have grievances, suicide attacks are favored by the radical religious. We model the choice of tactics by rebels. We first ask what a suicide attacker would have to believe to be deemed rational. We then embed the attacker and other operatives in a club good model which emphasizes the function of voluntary religious organizations as providers of local public goods. The sacrifices which these groups demand solve a free-rider problem in the cooperative production of public goods, as in Iannaccone (1992). These sacrifices make clubs well suited for organizing suicide attacks where defection by operatives (including the attacker) endanger the entire organization. Thus radical religious groups can be effective dispatchers of suicide bombers if they chose to do so. The model also analyzes the choice of suicide attacks as a tactic, predicting that suicide will be used when targets are well protected and when damage is great. Those predictions are consistent with the patterns described above. The model has testable implications for tactic choice of terrorists and for damage achieved by different types of terrorists which we find to be consistent with the data. The analysis has clear implications for economic policy to contain suicide terrorism..

 

 

 

 

ANTI-TERROR POLICY AS ECONOMIC THEOLOGY

Robert H. Nelson (University of Maryland)

 

Abstract:

 

Economics not only can influence the practice of religion but can become a form of religion in itself, as I argue in Economics as Religion (Penn State Press, 2001).  In economic religion, the explanation for the existence of evil in the world – the new understanding of “original sin” – is found in economic causes.  Hence, if economic problems can be completely solved, sin can be eliminated – the world can be saved and human beings will have arrived at a new heaven on earth.  I propose to explore this theme as it has been illustrated most recently in contemporary thinking about the problem of terrorism.  Is the most widely accepted explanation for terrorist actions to be found in the prior economic circumstances of the terrorists, as I suspect is the case?   What are the alternative explanations for the “sinfulness” of terrorists.  Should the Iraq war be seen as a modern crusade in the name of economic religion – based on the assumption that economic progress in the Middle East will lay the groundwork for peace and democracy, eliminating the current basis for terrorism in a economically deprived society.  By exploring these prominent contemporary issues, including a review of some American government documents, I propose to shed further light on the pervasive and powerful role of secular economic religion in shaping contemporary public affairs.

 

 

 

CHRISTIANITY AND CAPITALIST CIVILIZATION

 

Salim Rashid (University of Illinois)

 

Abstract:

 

The long and contentious discussion on the role of Christianity on Economics, made famous by Max Weber, has lacked a structural economic focus because of a failure to specify in advance the factors that should ‘create’ economic growth. The highlighting of particular sects has also misled the argument by moving us away from the broad systemic features into the specifics of differentiation. In the case of  Britain, probably the most studied of all cases, it is Anglicanism and its impact that needs primary consideration. This paper posits five structural  criteria and examines the impact of Anglicanism in the light of these criteria:

1. The Rule of Law

2. Work ethic

3. Desirability of Consumption

4. Encouragement of science

5. Support networks

The 17th ,18th and 19th centuries are probably of decisive importance in deciding the impact of religion on economy in Europe. On the basis of a historical study of these centuries, it is argued that Christianity was a highly positive, and probably decisive, force in the formation of European capitalist Civilization.

 

 

 

 

THE TRANSFORMATION OF WORK ETHICS IN AUSTRIA: THE IMITATION OF PROTESTANT INSTITUTIONS BY A CATHOLIC COUNTRY

 

Peter Lewisch (Imadec University)

 

Abstract:

 

This paper covers the period of around 1750 to 1800 in the Austrian empire, the time of the great transformation of the work ethics. When empress Maria Theresia took over the thrown, the empire was in a disastrous economic condition. She asked the new professors in economics to advise her on a policy to remedy this problem. These professors (Justi and later Sonnenfels) compared empirically those countries who where economically leading (England, Holland, northern Germany, Switzerland) and those that were economically badly doing (Austria, southern Germany, Italy,

Spain) and asked for an underlying explanatory pattern. The answer, they came up with, was religion (Protestantism versus Catholicism); their treatments show a lucid discussion of the role of religion for economic progress. The policy question asked was the following: "What can we do such that the people, after having worked for their daily bread, would not run with their rosenkranzes into the churches for a prayer, but would work for tomorrow’s bread?" Austria, being the Holy Roman Empire could not change its religion, but it could deliberately import protestant institutions (working houses, children’s labor, mandatory schools). And this has been done. Austria implemented a policy of imitating protestant institutions; and quite successfully so.

 

This Austrian case is fascinating, because it does not hinge on assumptions regarding the relationship of economic performance and religion. Even if this relationship did not exist, the policy makers designed their policy on the basis of its existence. Differently to Max Weber, this case study does not concern the entrepreneurial ethics, but the work ethics of the "common workforce" and their change.

 

 

 

 

OTTOMAN RESPONSE TO THE ECONOMIC POLICIES OF THE CATHOLIC CHURCH DURING THE MIDDLE AGES

 

Resit Ergener (Bogazici University, Turkey)

 

 

Abstract:


During the Middle Ages, Catholic Church, acting like a monopolist and
eliminating its rivals, accumulated large resources through the sales of indulgences, marriage licenses, relics and clerical offices and through the economic activities of monasteries. According to some authors, the capital accumulated by the Catholic Church paved the way to Industrial Revolution. Similar developments took place with Zen Buddhism in Japan.  The main rival of the Pope, the Ottoman Sultan pursued a different policy. Under the Ottomans, Moslem religion unified the masses "in the war against the infidel" and was a tool of generating revenue to the extent that wars actually brought in loot. Paid for by Royal or private wealth, Moslem temples consumed rather than generated revenue. There were no sales of indulgences, marriage licenses, relics and clerical offices and no monasteries where celibate monks generated surpluses through devoted free labor. The absence of a surplus generating religious establishment, is possibly one of the factors which contributed to the economic downfall of Ottoman Empire. Ottoman Sultan was not a religious monopolist either.  Orthodox and Armenian Christian and Jewish communities were allowed to coexist in his realm, each community under its respective head. Some religious wealth extraction took place through the sale of offices to the heads of these faiths. In terms of economic development, non-Moslem communities fared better than the Moslems.  

 

 

A PIOUS AND PROFITABLE MYSTERY: PURGATORY, COOPERATION, AND THE COMMERCIALIZATION OF LATE MEDIEVAL ENGLAND

 

Gary Richardson (UC Irvine)

 

Abstract:

 

It contains a simple, game-theoretic model which illuminates how the number, membership, and activities of guilds in England responded to changes in Christian doctrines concerning the afterlife. Then, it tests the model's comparative statics by comparing data about the dissemination and demise of the doctrine of purgatory with data aggregate and microdata about the number of guilds, membership within guilds, quality of products, and contributions of members to their organizations.

 

 

 

ORTHODOX ECONOMICS AND PROVERBIAL RELIGION: LOOKING BACK AT THE HECKSCHER-VINER CONTROVERSY

 

David Levy (George Mason University) and Sandra Peart (Baldwin Wallace College)

 

Abstract:

 

70 years ago, Eli Heckscher proposed that the period of orthodox economics marked a drastic break, in both ideology and policy, with the preceding mercantile period. Heckscher proposed the mercantile period to be one concerned with "power" in opposition to the economic orthodoxy's concern with "plenty." Morever, with regard to the benefits of international trade economic orthodoxy was rather close to proverbial religion which ascribed a providential order to the international distribution of good things. As befitting Heckscher's status as historian of economics and trade theorist, this claim was taken with great seriousness. Heckscher's account was opposed by one of his few peers in both fields, Jacob Viner. Viner claimed that mercantile writer and orthodox economist were concerned with both military power and plenty. While there might well be differences in the weights of these goals ascribed to the two good things, both were valued. If this is so, there is no basis to claim that orthodox economists have anything more in common with religion than do the mercantile writers. We propose to look back on this controversy with the idea that Herscher's "power" is wider than what Viner thought it was. For example, we should reflect upon Hecksher's evidence that the period of classical economics was something different than what went before: Population policy bore the same stamp, the slave trade being in many respects only side of this policy. The innumerable letters with regard to the populating of the French colonies with young girls, who were went thither by shiploads, usually from Houses of Correction, but sometimes also young country girls, were almost of the nature of instructions for human breeding-studs. In the same breath mention is made of shiploads of women, mares and sheep; the methods of propagating human beings and cattle being regarded as roughly on the same plane. (1955, 2:300) In Viner's criticism of Hecksher, he cites this evidence as Hecksher's strongest: Of all the mercantilists Colbert is the most vulnerable, since he carried all the major errors of economic analysis of which they were guilty to their most absurd extremes both in verbal expositions and in practical execution, and since, either as expressing his own sentiments or catering to those of his master, Louis XIV, he developed more elaborately than any other author the serviceability to power of economic warfare ... Even in his case, however, it is not possible to demonstrate that he ever rejected or regarded as unimportant the desirability for its own sake of a prosperous French people ..." Viner (1948, p. 134). Viner's "French people" implicitly assumes that they enter the weighting scheme in some equal manner. Hecksher's evidence is precisely that they do not. Some people count for no more than animals. These need to be directed by their betters. Hecksher expresses concern that these hierarchical attitudes are returning: It need be emphasized that the contrast with modern conditions made here has had the achievements of the 19th century in view. How far recent tendencies will renew or even surpass the mentality her exemplified from mercantilism remains to be seen. (1955, 2:301) The "recent tendencies" went by the name of eugenics which proposed to breed out the "unfit" (Peart-Levy 2005). In our formulation an ideology of "power" supposes that some count for more than others. The orthodox economic assumption is that everyone counts the same. Proverbial religion with emphasis on reciprocity is closer to economic orthodoxy than it is to an ideology of power.

 

 

 

ON THE ALLOCATION OF TIME TO RELIGIOUS ACTIVITIES

 

Constantino Hevia (The University of Chicago)

 

Abstract:

 

A simple model of the allocation of time to religious activities is developed along the lines of the human capital literature.  The model has several testable implications, for example, how time allocated to religious activities varies with the interest rate, wages, and aging. The model is then extended to study the relation between religion, patience, and investment in health. It is argues that the model can be used to interpret several aspects of human behavior not contemplated by the traditional theory of consumer behavior.

            As part of the analysis it is shown how the value of life formula is modified when we account for spiritual activities, and how it differs among people with different stocks of spiritual capital and with different tastes for religion.

 

 

 

WHAT MAKES A PROGRESSIVE RELIGIOUS LEADER?:  ANALYZING VOTES FROM THE SECOND VATICAN COUNCIL

 

Melissa Wilde (Indiana University), Kristin Geraty, Shelley Nelson, Emily Bowman, and Grace Yukich

 

 

Abstract:

 

The almost 3000 Cardinals and Bishops of the Roman Catholic Church decided on the major issues of the Second Vatican Council (1962-1965) by majority vote.  While the deciding tallies were, of course, posted at the time, data linking each elector to his votes have not been available to scholars or journalists until now.  By combining these votes with other data sources on the bishops’ biographies and nations, we test a key proposition of the religious markets theory: that bishops will use their votes to strengthen Catholicism’s position in their local context.  Consistent with the theory, we find that bishops in settings where Catholicism was a minority religion were open to progressive reform that promoted religious freedom and ecumenism, while others opposed motions on those issues in order to protect their monopoly or protected position.

 

 

 

THE  TRIUMPH  OF  CHRISTIANITY  IN  THE  ROMAN  EMPIRE:

AN  ECONOMIC  INTERPRETATION

 

                                               

Mario  Ferrero (University of Eastern Piedmont)

 

 

Abstract:

 

This paper offers an economic interpretation of Christianity's takeover of the Roman empire. It first points out paganism's apparent inability to provide individual security in times of distress, such as the third century A.D., as a reason for the increasing demand for monotheism. It then reviews Christianity's monotheistic competitors and points out the reasons why they lost out. Next, it formally addresses the Christian church's dilemma between exclusive membership and open access to all applicants on the day of its triumph, and shows that open access and universal membership was a superior policy if coupled with doctrinal radicalization. Finally, it analyzes the theological controversies of the fourth and fifth centuries by means of a Hotelling-type linear spatial model of doctrinal strictness ranging from paganism to Judaism, and traces the theological choices that were made back to the church's need to distance itself from its potential competitors.