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Why Hasn’t Economic Growth Killed Religion?

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  • Michael McBride

    (Department of Economics, University of California-Irvine)

Abstract

Economic growth has not led to a decline in religion despite past predictions that it would. I use a formal model of religious competition to show how economic growth produces counteracting effects on religious participation in an open religious market, while economic growth will have little effect in a religious market that is already secularized due to religious regulations. Theories predicting the decline of religion due to rising opportunity costs of religious demand and supply ignore countervailing influences.

Suggested Citation

  • Michael McBride, 2005. "Why Hasn’t Economic Growth Killed Religion?," Working Papers 050602, University of California-Irvine, Department of Economics.
    • Handle: RePEc:irv:wpaper:050602
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    File URL: https://www.economics.uci.edu/files/docs/workingpapers/2005-06/McBride-02.pdf
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    References listed on IDEAS

    as
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    7. Robert J. Barro & Rachel McCleary, 2003. "Religion and Economic Growth," NBER Working Papers 9682, National Bureau of Economic Research, Inc.
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    Cited by:

    1. 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.

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    More about this item

    Keywords

    Religion; Hotelling; entry deterrence;
    All these keywords.

    JEL classification:

    • D23 - Microeconomics - - Production and Organizations - - - Organizational Behavior; Transaction Costs; Property Rights
    • D40 - Microeconomics - - Market Structure, Pricing, and Design - - - General
    • L10 - Industrial Organization - - Market Structure, Firm Strategy, and Market Performance - - - General
    • Z12 - Other Special Topics - - Cultural Economics - - - Religion

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