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Does social context affect poverty? The role of religious congregations

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  • Ambra Poggi

Abstract

This paper contributes to the literature that aims at identifying and measuring the impact of social context on individual-level outcomes. We focus on religious congregations (social groups with which Christian worshipers feel associated) and investigate congregation effects on individual poverty using U.S. data and a multilevel approach. In order to correct for selection effects, we model congregation choice using a multinomial logit model and subsequently incorporate correction components into the multilevel model of congregation effects. Our empirical results support the existence of congregation effects and, therefore, the importance of social context on individual poverty. We find that congregation size, recreational services, initiatives to integrate new members and behavior standards play important roles in shaping the probability that churchgoers experience poverty. Individual behavior (in terms of participation in the religious life of congregations) also matters. These finding are in line with the idea that congregations’ activities can foster social interactions and cooperation reducing individual probability of experiencing poverty.

Suggested Citation

  • Ambra Poggi, 2019. "Does social context affect poverty? The role of religious congregations," Working Papers 413, University of Milano-Bicocca, Department of Economics, revised 31 May 2019.
  • Handle: RePEc:mib:wpaper:413
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    References listed on IDEAS

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    1. Laurence R. Iannaccone, 1998. "Introduction to the Economics of Religion," Journal of Economic Literature, American Economic Association, vol. 36(3), pages 1465-1495, September.
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    3. Scheve, Kenneth & Stasavage, David, 2006. "Religion and Preferences for Social Insurance," Quarterly Journal of Political Science, now publishers, vol. 1(3), pages 255-286, July.
    4. Cleaver, Frances, 2005. "The inequality of social capital and the reproduction of chronic poverty," World Development, Elsevier, vol. 33(6), pages 893-906, June.
    5. JOHN T. DURKIN Jr. & ANDREW M. GREELEY, 1991. "A Model of Religious Choice Under Uncertainty," Rationality and Society, , vol. 3(2), pages 178-196, April.
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    More about this item

    Keywords

    poverty; religion; social capital; multi-level analysis;
    All these keywords.

    JEL classification:

    • I32 - Health, Education, and Welfare - - Welfare, Well-Being, and Poverty - - - Measurement and Analysis of Poverty
    • Z12 - Other Special Topics - - Cultural Economics - - - Religion
    • C13 - Mathematical and Quantitative Methods - - Econometric and Statistical Methods and Methodology: General - - - Estimation: General

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