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Weber Revisited: The Protestant Ethic and the Spirit of Nationalism

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  • Wolf, Nikolaus
  • Kersting, Felix
  • Wohnsiedler, Iris

Abstract

We revisit Max Weber's hypothesis on the role of Protestantism for economic development. We show that nationalism is crucial to both, the interpretation of Weber's Protestant Ethic and empirical tests thereof. For late nineteenth-century Prussia we reject Weber's suggestion that Protestantism mattered due to an "ascetic compulsion to save". Moreover, we find that income levels, savings, and literacy rates differed between Germans and Poles, not between Protestants and Catholics, using pooled OLS and IV regressions. We suggest that this result is due to anti-Polish discrimination.

Suggested Citation

  • Wolf, Nikolaus & Kersting, Felix & Wohnsiedler, Iris, 2020. "Weber Revisited: The Protestant Ethic and the Spirit of Nationalism," CEPR Discussion Papers 14963, Centre for Economic Policy Research.
    • Handle: RePEc:cpr:ceprdp:14963
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    References listed on IDEAS

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    Keywords

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    JEL classification:

    • N13 - Economic History - - Macroeconomics and Monetary Economics; Industrial Structure; Growth; Fluctuations - - - Europe: Pre-1913
    • N33 - Economic History - - Labor and Consumers, Demography, Education, Health, Welfare, Income, Wealth, Religion, and Philanthropy - - - Europe: Pre-1913
    • O16 - Economic Development, Innovation, Technological Change, and Growth - - Economic Development - - - Financial Markets; Saving and Capital Investment; Corporate Finance and Governance
    • Z12 - Other Special Topics - - Cultural Economics - - - Religion

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