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Religion, Culture, and Economic Performance

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  • Marcus Noland

    (Peterson Institute for International Economics)

Abstract

The hypothesis that the coefficients on variables of religious affiliation are jointly equal to zero can frequently be rejected at conventional levels of statistical significance (i.e., religion matters), but no robust relationship between adherence to major world religions and national economic performance is uncovered, using both cross-national and subnational data. The results with respect to Islam do not support the notion that it is inimical to growth. On the contrary, every statistically significant coefficient on Muslim population shares reported in this paper - in both cross-country and within-country statistical analyses - is positive. If anything, Islam promotes growth.

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  • Marcus Noland, 2003. "Religion, Culture, and Economic Performance," Working Paper Series WP03-8, Peterson Institute for International Economics.
  • Handle: RePEc:iie:wpaper:wp03-8
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    Cited by:

    1. Marcus Noland & Howard Pack, 2004. "Islam, Globalization, and Economic Performance in the Middle East," Policy Briefs PB04-04, Peterson Institute for International Economics.
    2. Steven N. Durlauf & Andros Kourtellos & Chih Ming Tan, 2012. "Is God in the details? A reexamination of the role of religion in economic growth," Journal of Applied Econometrics, John Wiley & Sons, Ltd., vol. 27(7), pages 1059-1075, November.
    3. Paul Frijters & Juan D. Barón, 2012. "The Cult of Theoi: Economic Uncertainty and Religion," The Economic Record, The Economic Society of Australia, vol. 88(s1), pages 116-136, June.
    4. Chanda Chansa Thelma, 2024. "Factors Leading to Early Marriages in Selected Communities of Lusaka District in Zambia," International Journal of Research and Innovation in Social Science, International Journal of Research and Innovation in Social Science (IJRISS), vol. 8(1), pages 192-205, January.
    5. ., 2014. "Ibn Khaldun’s theory of development: does it help explain the low performance of the present-day Muslim world?," Chapters, in: Morality and Justice in Islamic Economics and Finance, chapter 4, pages 93-134, Edward Elgar Publishing.
    6. Shiro Kuwahara, 2018. "When is the Spirit of Capitalism Effective for Economic Development?," International Journal of Economics and Finance, Canadian Center of Science and Education, vol. 10(3), pages 70-82, March.
    7. Patrick A. Imam & Mr. Kangni R Kpodar, 2010. "Islamic Banking: How Has it Diffused?," IMF Working Papers 2010/195, International Monetary Fund.
    8. Hajj, Mandana & Panizza, Ugo, 2009. "Religion and education gender gap: Are Muslims different?," Economics of Education Review, Elsevier, vol. 28(3), pages 337-344, June.
    9. Nida Shah & Muhammad Nadeem Qureshi & Yasra Aslam, 2017. "An Empirical Investigation of Islamic Calendar Effect in Global Islamic Equity Indices," International Journal of Economics and Finance, Canadian Center of Science and Education, vol. 9(6), pages 57-68, June.
    10. Hilary, Gilles & Hui, Kai Wai, 2009. "Does religion matter in corporate decision making in America?," Journal of Financial Economics, Elsevier, vol. 93(3), pages 455-473, September.
    11. Benabou, Roland, 2008. "Ideology," IZA Discussion Papers 3416, Institute of Labor Economics (IZA).
    12. Roland Bénabou & Jean Tirole, 2006. "Belief in a Just World and Redistributive Politics," The Quarterly Journal of Economics, Oxford University Press, vol. 121(2), pages 699-746.
    13. Tarik M. Yousef, 2004. "Development, Growth and Policy Reform in the Middle East and North Africa since 1950," Journal of Economic Perspectives, American Economic Association, vol. 18(3), pages 91-115, Summer.
    14. Abdelkader Chachi, 2005. "Bool Review: Economic Development in the Middle East, by: Rodney Wilson, Reviewed By: Abdelkader Chachi مراجعة علمية لكتاب: التنمية الاقتصادية في الشرق الأوسط، تأليف: رودني ويلسون، مراجعة: عبدالقادر ش," Book reviews and book reports published in the Journal of King Abdulaziz University: Islamic Economics. 311, King Abdulaziz University, Islamic Economics Institute..
    15. Yaron Zelekha & Gil Avnimelech & Eyal Sharabi, 2014. "Religious institutions and entrepreneurship," Small Business Economics, Springer, vol. 42(4), pages 747-767, April.
    16. John Kuada, 2020. "Culture and economic development in Africa – opportunities and challenges," Research Africa Network Working Papers 20/062, Research Africa Network (RAN).
    17. Barbara Mazur & Łukasz Sułkowski, 2020. "Management Students Values Depending on Religion—Comparative Research from Poland," Social Sciences, MDPI, vol. 9(2), pages 1-15, February.
    18. Charles Plaigin, 2009. "Exploratory study on the presence of cultural and institutional growth spillovers," DULBEA Working Papers 09-03.RS, ULB -- Universite Libre de Bruxelles.
    19. Nikolaos Satsios & Kostas Karamanis & Aikaterini Galanou & Ioannis Sotiropoulos, 2020. "The Saving Behaviour of Pomaks in Bulgaria: A Path Analysis Approach," Economic Studies journal, Bulgarian Academy of Sciences - Economic Research Institute, issue 3, pages 105-120.
    20. Steven N. Durlauf & Andros Kourtelos & Chih Ming Tan, 2006. "Is God in the details? A reexamination of the Role of Relegion in Economic," University of Cyprus Working Papers in Economics 10-2006, University of Cyprus Department of Economics.
    21. John Kuada, 2020. "Culture and economic development in Africa – opportunities and challenges," Working Papers of the African Governance and Development Institute. 20/062, African Governance and Development Institute..
    22. Lou O'Neil, Mary & Bilgin, Mehmet Huseyin & Lau, Chi Keung Marco, 2012. "The Effects of Religious Beliefs on the Working Decisions of Women: Some Evidence from Turkey," MPRA Paper 46973, University Library of Munich, Germany.
    23. Kunting Chen, 2012. "Analysis of the Great Divergence under a Unified Endogenous Growth Model," Annals of Economics and Finance, Society for AEF, vol. 13(2), pages 317-353, November.
    24. John Kuada, 2020. "Culture and economic development in Africa – opportunities and challenges," Working Papers 20/062, European Xtramile Centre of African Studies (EXCAS).
    25. Volker Nienhaus, 2014. "Religion and development," Chapters, in: M. Kabir Hassan & Mervyn K. Lewis (ed.), Handbook on Islam and Economic Life, chapter 28, pages iii-iii, Edward Elgar Publishing.

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    More about this item

    Keywords

    Economic growth; convergence; religion; Islam; India; Malaysia; Ghana;
    All these keywords.

    JEL classification:

    • O40 - Economic Development, Innovation, Technological Change, and Growth - - Economic Growth and Aggregate Productivity - - - General
    • Z12 - Other Special Topics - - Cultural Economics - - - Religion

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