This file is part of IDEAS, which uses RePEc data


[ Papers | Articles | Software | Books | Chapters | Authors | Institutions | JEL Classification | NEP reports | Search | New papers by email | Author registration | Rankings | Volunteers | FAQ | Blog | Help! ]

Which Countries Have State Religions?

Author info | Abstract | Publisher info | Download info | Related research | Statistics
Author Info
Robert J. Barro (Harvard University)
Rachel M. Mccleary (Harvard University)

Additional information is available for the following registered author(s):

Abstract

Among 188 countries, 72 had no state religion in 2000, 1970, and 1900; 58 had a state religion throughout; and 58 had 1 or 2 transitions. We use a Hotelling spatial competition model to analyze the likelihood that the religion market would be monopolized. Similar forces influence a government's decision to establish a state religion. Consistent with the model, the probability of state religion in 1970 and 2000 is increasing with the adherence rate to the main religion, has a nonlinear relation with population, and has little relation with per capita GDP. The probability of state religion decreases sharply under Communism, but lagged Communism has only a weak effect. With costly adjustment for institutions, the probability of state religion in 1970 or 2000 depends substantially on the status in 1900. This persistence is much stronger for countries with no major regime change than for countries with such a change. Copyright (c) 2005 Massachusetts Institute of Technology.

Download Info
To download:

If you experience problems downloading a file, check if you have the proper application to view it first. Information about this may be contained in the File-Format links below. In case of further problems read the IDEAS help page. Note that these files are not on the IDEAS site. Please be patient as the files may be large.

File URL: http://www.mitpressjournals.org/doi/pdfplus/10.1162/003355305775097515
File Format: text/html
File Function: link to full text
Download Restriction: Access to full text is restricted to subscribers.

As the access to this document is restricted, you may want to look for a different version under "Related research" (further below) or search for a different version of it.

Publisher Info
Article provided by MIT Press in its journal The Quarterly Journal of Economics.

Volume (Year): 120 (2005)
Issue (Month): 4 (November)
Pages: 1331-1370
Download reference. The following formats are available: HTML (with abstract), plain text (with abstract), BibTeX, RIS (EndNote, RefMan, ProCite), ReDIF
Handle: RePEc:tpr:qjecon:v:120:y:2005:i:4:p:1331-1370

Contact details of provider:
Web page: http://mitpress.mit.edu/journals/

Order Information:
Web: http://mitpress.mit.edu/journal-home.tcl?issn=00335533

For technical questions regarding this item, or to correct its listing, contact: (Christopher F. Baum).

Related research
Keywords:

Other versions of this item:

References listed on IDEAS
Please report citation or reference errors to , or , if you are the registered author of the cited work, log in to your RePEc Author Service profile, click on "citations" and make appropriate adjustments.:
  1. Douglas Staiger & James H. Stock, 1997. "Instrumental Variables Regression with Weak Instruments," Econometrica, Econometric Society, vol. 65(3), pages 557-586, May.
    Other versions:
  2. Casey B. Mulligan & Xavier Sala-i-Martin & Ricard Gil, 2003. "Do Democracies Have Different Public Policies than Nondemocracies?," NBER Working Papers 10040, National Bureau of Economic Research, Inc. [Downloadable!] (restricted)
    Other versions:
  3. Robert Barro & Rachel M. McCleary, 2003. "International Determinants of Religiosity," NBER Working Papers 10147, National Bureau of Economic Research, Inc. [Downloadable!] (restricted)
  4. Olds, Kelly, 1994. "Privatizing the Church: Disestablishment in Connecticut and Massachusetts," Journal of Political Economy, University of Chicago Press, vol. 102(2), pages 277-97, April. [Downloadable!] (restricted)
  5. Casey B. Mulligan & Andrei Shleifer, 2004. "Population and Regulation," NBER Working Papers 10234, National Bureau of Economic Research, Inc. [Downloadable!] (restricted)
  6. Rafael La Porta & Florencio Lopez-de-Silanes & Andrei Shleifer & Robert W. Vishny, 1998. "Law and Finance," Journal of Political Economy, University of Chicago Press, vol. 106(6), pages 1113-1155, December. [Downloadable!] (restricted)
    Other versions:
Full references

Cited by:
(explanations, Please report citation or reference errors to , or , if you are the registered author of the cited work, log in to your RePEc Author Service profile, click on "citations" and make appropriate adjustments.)

  1. Brañas-Garza, Pablo & García-Muñoz, Teresa & Neuman, Shoshana, 2008. "Unravelling Secularization: an International Study," CEPR Discussion Papers 6629, C.E.P.R. Discussion Papers. [Downloadable!] (restricted)
    Other versions:
  2. West, Martin R. & Woessmann, Ludger, 2008. ""Every Catholic Child in a Catholic School": Historical Resistance to State Schooling, Contemporary Private Competition, and Student Achievement across Countries," IZA Discussion Papers 3818, Institute for the Study of Labor (IZA). [Downloadable!]
    Other versions:
  3. Papaioannou, Elias & Siourounis, Gregorios, 2008. "Economic and Social Factors Driving the Third Wave of Democratization," CEPR Discussion Papers 6986, C.E.P.R. Discussion Papers. [Downloadable!] (restricted)
    Other versions:
  4. Jonathan Gruber & Daniel M. Hungerman, 2006. "The Church vs the Mall: What Happens When Religion Faces Increased Secular Competition?," NBER Working Papers 12410, National Bureau of Economic Research, Inc. [Downloadable!] (restricted)
  5. Alberto Alesina & Nichola Fuchs Schuendeln, 2005. "Good bye Lenin (or not?): The Effect of Communism on People's Preferences," NBER Working Papers 11700, National Bureau of Economic Research, Inc. [Downloadable!] (restricted)
    Other versions:
  6. Casey B. Mulligan & Ricard Gil & Xavier Sala-i-Martin, 2004. "Do Democracies Have Different Public Policies than Nondemocracies?," Journal of Economic Perspectives, American Economic Association, vol. 18(1), pages 51-74, Winter. [Downloadable!] (restricted)
    Other versions:
  7. Murat Iyigun, 2006. "Ottoman Conquests and European Ecclesiastical Pluralism," IZA Discussion Papers 1973, Institute for the Study of Labor (IZA). [Downloadable!]
  8. Pablo Brañas-Garza & Angel Solano, 2007. "Why Do European Governments Favor Religion?," Papers on Economics of Religion 07/01, Department of Economic Theory and Economic History of the University of Granada.. [Downloadable!]
  9. Robert I. Mochrie & John W. Sawkins & Alexander Naumov, 2006. "Competition and Participation in Religious Markets: Evidence from Victorian Scotland," Working Papers E01, Department of Economics, School of Management and Languages, Heriot Watt University. [Downloadable!]
    Other versions:
  10. Iyigun, Murat, 2008. "Lessons from the Ottoman Harem (On Ethnicity, Religion and War)," IZA Discussion Papers 3556, Institute for the Study of Labor (IZA). [Downloadable!]
  11. C. Reggiani & G. Rossini, 2008. "Religious Attitudes and Home Bias," Working Papers 632, Dipartimento Scienze Economiche, Universita' di Bologna. [Downloadable!]
  12. Ying , Fang & Yang , Zhao, 2009. "Do institutions matter? Estimating the effect of institutions on economic performance in China," BOFIT Discussion Papers 9/2009, Bank of Finland, Institute for Economies in Transition. [Downloadable!]
  13. Robert J. Barro & Jason Hwang, 2007. "Religious Conversion in 40 Countries," NBER Working Papers 13689, National Bureau of Economic Research, Inc. [Downloadable!] (restricted)
  14. Francisco Gallego & Robert Woodberry, 2008. "Christian Missionaries and Education in Former Colonies: How Institutions Mattered," Documentos de Trabajo 339, Instituto de Economía. Pontificia Universidad Católica de Chile.. [Downloadable!]
  15. C. Reggiani & G. Rossini, 2006. "Home Bias among European Students," Working Papers 579, Dipartimento Scienze Economiche, Universita' di Bologna. [Downloadable!]
  16. Becker, Sascha O. & Wößmann, Ludger, 2007. "Was Weber Wrong? A Human Capital Theory of Protestant Economic History," Discussion Papers in Economics 1366, University of Munich, Department of Economics. [Downloadable!]
    Other versions:
  17. Murat Iyigun, 2007. "Monotheism (From a Sociopolitical and Economic Perspective)," IZA Discussion Papers 3116, Institute for the Study of Labor (IZA). [Downloadable!]
  18. Arye Hillman, 2007. "Economic and security consequences of supreme values," Public Choice, Springer, vol. 131(3), pages 259-280, June. [Downloadable!] (restricted)
  19. Benedikt Goderis & Mila Versteeg, 2009. "Human Rights Violations after 9/11 and the Role of Constitutional Constraints," Economics Series Working Papers 425, University of Oxford, Department of Economics. [Downloadable!]
  20. Hendrik P. van Dalen & Mieke Reuser, 2005. "What Drives Donor Funding in Population Assistance Programs?," Tinbergen Institute Discussion Papers 05-062/1, Tinbergen Institute. [Downloadable!]
  21. Graziella Bertocchi & Chiara Strozzi, 2005. "Citizenship Laws and International Migration in Historical Perspective," Working Papers 2005.71, Fondazione Eni Enrico Mattei. [Downloadable!]
    Other versions:
  22. Nick Bloom & Raffaella Sadun & John Van Reenen, 2009. "The Organization of Firms Across Countries," CEP Discussion Papers dp0937, Centre for Economic Performance, LSE. [Downloadable!]
    Other versions:
Statistics
Access and download statistics

Did you know? IDEAS also indexes software components.

This page was last updated on 2009-10-19.

This information is provided to you by IDEAS at the Department of Economics, College of Liberal Arts and Sciences, University of Connecticut using RePEc data on a server sponsored by the Society for Economic Dynamics.