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The Impact of Charitable Subsidies on Religious Giving and Attendance: Evidence from Panel Data

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  • Barış K. Yörük

    (University at Albany, SUNY)

Abstract

The literature documents that charitable giving is responsive to tax subsidies but often ignores the spillover effects of such policies. This paper investigates the spillover effects of charitable subsidies on religious participation using individual-level panel data. The results show that religious giving and participation are complements. The implied cross-price elasticity of religious participation with respect to the after-tax price of giving is −0.27. Furthermore, a 1% increase in the amount of religious contributions is associated with a 0.4% increase in religious attendance. These results are robust under several different specifications and highlight the positive externalities created by charitable subsidies. © 2013 The President and Fellows of Harvard College and the Massachusetts Institute of Technology.

Suggested Citation

  • Barış K. Yörük, 2013. "The Impact of Charitable Subsidies on Religious Giving and Attendance: Evidence from Panel Data," The Review of Economics and Statistics, MIT Press, vol. 95(5), pages 1708-1721, December.
    • Handle: RePEc:tpr:restat:v:95:y:2013:i:5:p:1708-1721
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    Cited by:

    1. Yörük, Barış K., 2014. "Does giving to charity lead to better health? Evidence from tax subsidies for charitable giving," Journal of Economic Psychology, Elsevier, vol. 45(C), pages 71-83.
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    3. Heger, Stephanie A. & Slonim, Robert, 2022. "Giving begets giving: Positive path dependence as moral consistency," Journal of Economic Behavior & Organization, Elsevier, vol. 204(C), pages 699-718.
    4. Insler, Michael A. & McMurrey, Bryce & McQuoid, Alexander F., 2019. "From broken windows to broken bonds: Militarized police and social fragmentation," Journal of Economic Behavior & Organization, Elsevier, vol. 163(C), pages 43-62.

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    More about this item

    Keywords

    charitable subsidy; religious giving; religious participation;
    All these keywords.

    JEL classification:

    • H24 - Public Economics - - Taxation, Subsidies, and Revenue - - - Personal Income and Other Nonbusiness Taxes and Subsidies
    • H31 - Public Economics - - Fiscal Policies and Behavior of Economic Agents - - - Household
    • L38 - Industrial Organization - - Nonprofit Organizations and Public Enterprise - - - Public Policy

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