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Measuring Religion from Behavior: Climate Shocks and Religious Adherence in Afghanistan

Author

Listed:
  • Callen, Michael
  • Blumenstock, Joshua
  • Dube, Oeindrila

Abstract

Religious adherence has been hard to study in part because it is hard to measure. We develop a new measure of religious adherence, which is granular in both time and space, using anonymized mobile phone transaction records. After validating the measure with traditional data, we show how it can shed light on the nature of religious adherence in Islamic societies. Exploiting random variation in climate, we find that as economic conditions in Afghanistan worsen, people become more religiously observant. The effects are most pronounced in areas where droughts have the biggest economic consequences, such as croplands without access to irrigation.

Suggested Citation

  • Callen, Michael & Blumenstock, Joshua & Dube, Oeindrila, 2023. "Measuring Religion from Behavior: Climate Shocks and Religious Adherence in Afghanistan," CEPR Discussion Papers 18255, C.E.P.R. Discussion Papers.
    • Handle: RePEc:cpr:ceprdp:18255
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    More about this item

    Keywords

    Religion;

    JEL classification:

    • Z10 - Other Special Topics - - Cultural Economics - - - General
    • Z12 - Other Special Topics - - Cultural Economics - - - Religion
    • Q10 - Agricultural and Natural Resource Economics; Environmental and Ecological Economics - - Agriculture - - - General
    • Q15 - Agricultural and Natural Resource Economics; Environmental and Ecological Economics - - Agriculture - - - Land Ownership and Tenure; Land Reform; Land Use; Irrigation; Agriculture and Environment
    • Q54 - Agricultural and Natural Resource Economics; Environmental and Ecological Economics - - Environmental Economics - - - Climate; Natural Disasters and their Management; Global Warming
    • O13 - Economic Development, Innovation, Technological Change, and Growth - - Economic Development - - - Agriculture; Natural Resources; Environment; Other Primary Products

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