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Beyond Work Ethic

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  • Christoph Basten
  • Frank Betz

Abstract

We investigate the effect of Reformed Protestantism, relative to Catholicism, on preferences for leisure, and for redistribution and intervention in the economy. We use a Fuzzy Spatial Regression Dis- continuity Design to exploit a historical quasi-experiment inWestern Switzerland, where in the 16th century a hitherto homogeneous re- gion was split and one part assigned to adopt Protestantism. We nd that Reformed Protestantism reduces referenda voting for more leisure by 12, for redistribution by 7, and for government interven- tion by 6 percentage points. These preferences translate into higher per capita income as well as greater income inequality.

Suggested Citation

  • Christoph Basten & Frank Betz, 2012. "Beyond Work Ethic," KOF Working papers 12-309, KOF Swiss Economic Institute, ETH Zurich.
    • Handle: RePEc:kof:wpskof:12-309
    DOI: 10.3929/ethz-a-007349793
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    Cited by:

    1. Jeremiah E. Dittmar & Ralf R. Meisenzahl, 2016. "State Capacity and Public Goods: Institutional Change, Human Capital, and Growth in Early Modern Germany," Finance and Economics Discussion Series 2016-028, Board of Governors of the Federal Reserve System (U.S.).
    2. Luigi Guiso & Helios Herrera & Massimo Morelli, 2016. "Cultural Differences and Institutional Integration," NBER Chapters, in: NBER International Seminar on Macroeconomics 2015, National Bureau of Economic Research, Inc.
    3. Liam Rose & Asha Shepard, 2022. "Examining persistent effects of extractive institutions in the United States," Economics and Politics, Wiley Blackwell, vol. 34(1), pages 142-170, March.
    4. Stichnoth, Holger & Yeter, Mustafa, 2013. "Cultural influences on the fertility behaviour of first- and second-generation immigrants in Germany," ZEW Discussion Papers 13-023, ZEW - Leibniz Centre for European Economic Research.
    5. Beatrix Eugster & Rafael Lalive & Andreas Steinhauer & Josef Zweimüller, 2017. "Culture, Work Attitudes, and Job Search: Evidence from the Swiss Language Border," Journal of the European Economic Association, European Economic Association, vol. 15(5), pages 1056-1100.
    6. Luigi Guiso & Helios Herrera & Massimo Morelli, 2013. "A Cultural Clash View of the EU Crisis," EIEF Working Papers Series 1321, Einaudi Institute for Economics and Finance (EIEF), revised Jul 2013.

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