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Racial Group Affinity and Religious Giving: Evidence from Congregation-Level Panel Data

Author

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  • Valentina Dimitrova-Grajzl
  • Peter Grajzl
  • A. Joseph Guse
  • J. Taylor Smith

Abstract

Since giving to religious organizations constitutes a substantial portion of total charitable giving, an understanding of the determinants of religious giving is a vital policy concern. Drawing on a novel congregation-level panel dataset, we examine whether religious giving is driven by preferences for racial group affinity, that is, loyalty to one's own racial group. To address endogeneity concerns, we combine a fixed effects estimation framework with an instrumental variable approach. We find robust evidence consistent with the racial group affinity motive: a decrease in the percent of whites in the county is ceteris paribus associated with a decrease in the total giving receipts collected by predominantly white congregations.

Suggested Citation

  • Valentina Dimitrova-Grajzl & Peter Grajzl & A. Joseph Guse & J. Taylor Smith, 2014. "Racial Group Affinity and Religious Giving: Evidence from Congregation-Level Panel Data," CESifo Working Paper Series 5135, CESifo.
    • Handle: RePEc:ces:ceswps:_5135
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    Cited by:

    1. Andreoni, James & Payne, A. Abigail & Smith, Justin & Karp, David, 2016. "Diversity and donations: The effect of religious and ethnic diversity on charitable giving," Journal of Economic Behavior & Organization, Elsevier, vol. 128(C), pages 47-58.

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    More about this item

    Keywords

    religious giving; racial group affinity; diversity; congregations;
    All these keywords.

    JEL classification:

    • D64 - Microeconomics - - Welfare Economics - - - Altruism; Philanthropy; Intergenerational Transfers
    • L31 - Industrial Organization - - Nonprofit Organizations and Public Enterprise - - - Nonprofit Institutions; NGOs; Social Entrepreneurship
    • Z12 - Other Special Topics - - Cultural Economics - - - Religion
    • J15 - Labor and Demographic Economics - - Demographic Economics - - - Economics of Minorities, Races, Indigenous Peoples, and Immigrants; Non-labor Discrimination

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