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Religiosity and State Welfare

In: Economics of Religion and Culture

Author

Listed:
  • Angela K. Dills
  • Rey Hernández-Julián

Abstract

The Catholic sex abuse scandals reduced both membership and religiosity in the Catholic Church. Because government spending on welfare may substitute for the religious provision of social services, we consider whether this plausibly exogenous decline in religiosity affected several measures of the public taste toward government and spending on welfare between 1990 and 2008. In places where there were more scandals, individuals state a preference for less government provision of social services. In contrast, a higher level of abuse is also associated with an increase in voting for Democratic candidates for President, state legislatures, and the US House of Representatives, and an increase in per capita government welfare spending, although this increase is insufficient to replace the decrease in Catholic-provided charity.
(This abstract was borrowed from another version of this item.)

Suggested Citation

  • Angela K. Dills & Rey Hernández-Julián, 2013. "Religiosity and State Welfare," NBER Chapters, in: Economics of Religion and Culture, pages 37-51, National Bureau of Economic Research, Inc.
    • Handle: RePEc:nbr:nberch:13254
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    1. is not listed on IDEAS
    2. Hungerman, Daniel & Rinz, Kevin & Weninger, Tim & Yoon, Chungeun, 2018. "Political campaigns and church contributions," Journal of Economic Behavior & Organization, Elsevier, vol. 155(C), pages 403-426.
    3. Anthony Gill, 2021. "The comparative endurance and efficiency of religion: a public choice perspective," Public Choice, Springer, vol. 189(3), pages 313-334, December.
    4. Bottan, Nicolas L. & Perez-Truglia, Ricardo, 2015. "Losing my religion: The effects of religious scandals on religious participation and charitable giving," Journal of Public Economics, Elsevier, vol. 129(C), pages 106-119.
    5. Didem Kurt & Ahmet C. Kurt, 2021. "Religion and informational influence: Evidence from individual tax behavior in the U.S," Journal of Consumer Affairs, Wiley Blackwell, vol. 55(3), pages 821-846, September.
    6. Naomi Gershoni & Rania Gihleb & Assaf Kott & Hani Mansour & Yannay Shanan, 2025. "Adjustments to Reduced Cash Transfers: Religious Safety Nets and Children's Long-Term Outcomes," CESifo Working Paper Series 11856, CESifo.
    7. Annalisa Frigo & Elisabetta Lodigiani & Sara Salomone, 2021. "For Children's Sake: Intergenerational Altruism and Parental Migration Intentions," LIDAM Discussion Papers IRES 2021030, Université catholique de Louvain, Institut de Recherches Economiques et Sociales (IRES).
    8. Gualtieri, Giovanni & Nicolini, Marcella & Sabatini, Fabio & Zamparelli, Luca, 2018. "Natural disasters and demand for redistribution: lessons from an earthquake," MPRA Paper 86445, University Library of Munich, Germany.
    9. Daniel M. Hungerman & Kevin Rinz & Jay Frymark, 2019. "Beyond the Classroom: The Implications of School Vouchers for Church Finances," The Review of Economics and Statistics, MIT Press, vol. 101(4), pages 588-601, October.
    10. Gualtieri, Giovanni & Nicolini, Marcella & Sabatini, Fabio, 2019. "Repeated shocks and preferences for redistribution," Journal of Economic Behavior & Organization, Elsevier, vol. 167(C), pages 53-71.
    11. Dierk Herzer, 2022. "The macro‐level effect of religiosity on health," Health Economics, John Wiley & Sons, Ltd., vol. 31(6), pages 993-1011, June.
    12. Giovanni Gualtieri & Marcella Nicolini & Fabio Sabatini & Luca Zamparelli, 2019. "Repeated Shocks and Preferences for Redistribution," Working Papers 2018.15, Fondazione Eni Enrico Mattei.
    13. James, Emmanuel O. & Bakas, Dimitrios & Thompson, Piers & Ebireri, John, 2025. "Who Benefits the Most from Micro-Credit? Micro-Level Evidence from Sub-Saharan Africa," World Development, Elsevier, vol. 193(C).

    More about this item

    JEL classification:

    • H41 - Public Economics - - Publicly Provided Goods - - - Public Goods
    • I38 - Health, Education, and Welfare - - Welfare, Well-Being, and Poverty - - - Government Programs; Provision and Effects of Welfare Programs
    • Z12 - Other Special Topics - - Cultural Economics - - - Religion

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