IDEAS home Printed from https://ideas.repec.org/p/pra/mprapa/124399.html
   My bibliography  Save this paper

Exploring the Economic Nature of Spiritual Values: Results from a Qualitative Meta-analysis

Author

Listed:
  • Koundouri, Phoebe
  • Landis, Conrad
  • Onofri, Laura

Abstract

The study performs a qualitative meta-analysis of literature on economic valuation of spiritual values, to possibly assess and attach them a common meaning and content. We apply the qualitative meta-analysis procedure, developed by Atkins et al. (2008), and validated by econometric analysis, to (1) literature on spiritual ecosystem services (SES) valuations studies and to (2) literature on measurement of spiritual capital impacts on economies and markets, with a focus on religious markets. Markets and economies, in fact, are complex social structures, where the spiritual values originated in environmental and ecosystem contexts might change connotation and significance. Results show that when spiritual values are expressed as nature direct consumption or instinctual feedback from nature, they seem to have a use value at personal level and a negative impact at social level (economies and institutions). When spiritual values are expressed as responsibility and connection through nature they have a non-use value at personal level and a positive impact at social level (economies and institutions). In this perspective, qualitative meta-analysis results may offer a preliminary support for a better understanding, design and implementation of quantitative and monetary valuation methods for SES and other spiritual values.

Suggested Citation

  • Koundouri, Phoebe & Landis, Conrad & Onofri, Laura, 2025. "Exploring the Economic Nature of Spiritual Values: Results from a Qualitative Meta-analysis," MPRA Paper 124399, University Library of Munich, Germany.
    • Handle: RePEc:pra:mprapa:124399
    as

    Download full text from publisher

    File URL: https://mpra.ub.uni-muenchen.de/124399/1/MPRA_paper_124399.pdf
    File Function: original version
    Download Restriction: no
    ---><---

    Other versions of this item:

    References listed on IDEAS

    as
    1. Schaltegger, Christoph A. & Torgler, Benno, 2010. "Work ethic, Protestantism, and human capital," Economics Letters, Elsevier, vol. 107(2), pages 99-101, May.
    2. Matthias Basedau & Simone Gobien & Sebastian Prediger, 2018. "The Multidimensional Effects Of Religion On Socioeconomic Development: A Review Of The Empirical Literature," Journal of Economic Surveys, Wiley Blackwell, vol. 32(4), pages 1106-1133, September.
    3. Michael A. Kortt & Brian Dollery, 2012. "Religion and the rate of return to human capital: evidence from Australia," Applied Economics Letters, Taylor & Francis Journals, vol. 19(10), pages 943-946, July.
    4. Roland Bénabou & Davide Ticchi & Andrea Vindigni, 2015. "Religion and Innovation," American Economic Review, American Economic Association, vol. 105(5), pages 346-351, May.
    5. Gruber Jonathan H, 2005. "Religious Market Structure, Religious Participation, and Outcomes: Is Religion Good for You?," The B.E. Journal of Economic Analysis & Policy, De Gruyter, vol. 5(1), pages 1-32, September.
    6. Noland, Marcus, 2005. "Religion and economic performance," World Development, Elsevier, vol. 33(8), pages 1215-1232, August.
    7. Irvine, Katherine N. & O’Brien, Liz & Ravenscroft, Neil & Cooper, Nigel & Everard, Mark & Fazey, Ioan & Reed, Mark S. & Kenter, Jasper O., 2016. "Ecosystem services and the idea of shared values," Ecosystem Services, Elsevier, vol. 21(PB), pages 184-193.
    8. Ilja Neustadt, 2011. "Do Religious Beliefs Explain Preferences for Income Redistribution? Experimental Evidence," CESifo Economic Studies, CESifo Group, vol. 57(4), pages 623-652, December.
    9. Fiona Nevzati & Mart Külvik & Joanna Storie & Liisa-Maria Tiidu & Simon Bell, 2023. "Assessment of Cultural Ecosystem Services and Well-Being: Testing a Method for Evaluating Natural Environment and Contact Types in the Harku Municipality, Estonia," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 15(13), pages 1-24, June.
    10. Brander, L.M. & de Groot, R. & Schägner, J.P. & Guisado-Goñi, V. & van 't Hoff, V. & Solomonides, S. & McVittie, A. & Eppink, F. & Sposato, M. & Do, L. & Ghermandi, A. & Sinclair, M. & Thomas, R., 2024. "Economic values for ecosystem services: A global synthesis and way forward," Ecosystem Services, Elsevier, vol. 66(C).
    11. Filipe Campante & David Yanagizawa-Drott, 2015. "Editor's Choice Does Religion Affect Economic Growth and Happiness? Evidence from Ramadan," The Quarterly Journal of Economics, President and Fellows of Harvard College, vol. 130(2), pages 615-658.
    12. Pryor, Frederic L., 2007. "The Economic Impact of Islam on Developing Countries," World Development, Elsevier, vol. 35(11), pages 1815-1835, November.
    13. Guiso, Luigi & Sapienza, Paola & Zingales, Luigi, 2003. "People's opium? Religion and economic attitudes," Journal of Monetary Economics, Elsevier, vol. 50(1), pages 225-282, January.
    14. Sriya Iyer, 2016. "The New Economics of Religion," Journal of Economic Literature, American Economic Association, vol. 54(2), pages 395-441, June.
    15. Onofri, Laura & Nunes, Paulo A.L.D., 2014. "De rationibus est disputandum: Psychological dimensions of choice and public policy design," Ecosystem Services, Elsevier, vol. 10(C), pages 172-179.
    16. Lewis Davis & Jia Gao, 2020. "Preferences or Patriarchy: Why Do Religious Women Work Less?," Social Indicators Research: An International and Interdisciplinary Journal for Quality-of-Life Measurement, Springer, vol. 147(1), pages 287-310, January.
    17. Rupasingha, Anil & Chilton, John b., 2009. "Religious adherence and county economic growth in the US," Journal of Economic Behavior & Organization, Elsevier, vol. 72(1), pages 438-450, October.
    18. Ranger, S. & Kenter, J.O. & Bryce, R. & Cumming, G. & Dapling, T. & Lawes, E. & Richardson, P.B., 2016. "Forming shared values in conservation management: An interpretive-deliberative-democratic approach to including community voices," Ecosystem Services, Elsevier, vol. 21(PB), pages 344-357.
    19. Elgin, Ceyhun & Goksel, Turkmen & Gurdal, Mehmet Y. & Orman, Cuneyt, 2013. "Religion, income inequality, and the size of the government," Economic Modelling, Elsevier, vol. 30(C), pages 225-234.
    20. Fish, Robert & Church, Andrew & Willis, Cheryl & Winter, Michael & Tratalos, Jamie A. & Haines-Young, Roy & Potschin, Marion, 2016. "Making space for cultural ecosystem services: Insights from a study of the UK nature improvement initiative," Ecosystem Services, Elsevier, vol. 21(PB), pages 329-343.
    21. Lucy E. Keniger & Kevin J. Gaston & Katherine N. Irvine & Richard A. Fuller, 2013. "What are the Benefits of Interacting with Nature?," IJERPH, MDPI, vol. 10(3), pages 1-23, March.
    22. Jobstvogt, Niels & Watson, Verity & Kenter, Jasper O., 2014. "Looking below the surface: The cultural ecosystem service values of UK marine protected areas (MPAs)," Ecosystem Services, Elsevier, vol. 10(C), pages 97-110.
    23. Pascua, Pua‘ala & McMillen, Heather & Ticktin, Tamara & Vaughan, Mehana & Winter, Kawika B., 2017. "Beyond services: A process and framework to incorporate cultural, genealogical, place-based, and indigenous relationships in ecosystem service assessments," Ecosystem Services, Elsevier, vol. 26(PB), pages 465-475.
    24. Klain, Sarah C. & Satterfield, Terre A. & Chan, Kai M.A., 2014. "What matters and why? Ecosystem services and their bundled qualities," Ecological Economics, Elsevier, vol. 107(C), pages 310-320.
    25. Dildar, Yasemin, 2015. "Patriarchal Norms, Religion, and Female Labor Supply: Evidence from Turkey," World Development, Elsevier, vol. 76(C), pages 40-61.
    26. McCleary, Rachel & Barro, Robert, 2003. "Religion and Economic Growth across Countries," Scholarly Articles 3708464, Harvard University Department of Economics.
    27. Huber, John D. & Stanig, Piero, 2011. "Church-state separation and redistribution," Journal of Public Economics, Elsevier, vol. 95(7), pages 828-836.
    28. Mitchell J. Neubert & Steven W. Bradley & Retno Ardianti & Edward M. Simiyu, 2017. "The Role of Spiritual Capital in Innovation and Performance: Evidence from Developing Economies," Entrepreneurship Theory and Practice, , vol. 41(4), pages 621-640, July.
    29. Fletcher, Ruth & Baulcomb, Corinne & Hall, Clare & Hussain, Salman, 2014. "Revealing marine cultural ecosystem services in the Black Sea," Marine Policy, Elsevier, vol. 50(PA), pages 151-161.
    30. Huber, John D. & Stanig, Piero, 2011. "Church-state separation and redistribution," Journal of Public Economics, Elsevier, vol. 95(7-8), pages 828-836, August.
    31. Robert Hoffmann, 2013. "The Experimental Economics Of Religion," Journal of Economic Surveys, Wiley Blackwell, vol. 27(5), pages 813-845, December.
    32. Onofri, Laura & Boatto, Vasco, 2020. "On the economic valuation of cultural ecosystem services: A tale of myths, vine and wine," Ecosystem Services, Elsevier, vol. 46(C).
    33. Tengberg, Anna & Fredholm, Susanne & Eliasson, Ingegard & Knez, Igor & Saltzman, Katarina & Wetterberg, Ola, 2012. "Cultural ecosystem services provided by landscapes: Assessment of heritage values and identity," Ecosystem Services, Elsevier, vol. 2(C), pages 14-26.
    34. Lutfun Nahar Lata & Peter Walters & Sonia Roitman, 2021. "The politics of gendered space: Social norms and purdah affecting female informal work in Dhaka, Bangladesh," Gender, Work and Organization, Wiley Blackwell, vol. 28(1), pages 318-336, January.
    35. Cheng, Xin & Van Damme, Sylvie & Li, Luyuan & Uyttenhove, Pieter, 2019. "Evaluation of cultural ecosystem services: A review of methods," Ecosystem Services, Elsevier, vol. 37(C), pages 1-1.
    36. Rachel M. McCleary & Robert J. Barro, 2006. "Religion and Economy," Journal of Economic Perspectives, American Economic Association, vol. 20(2), pages 49-72, Spring.
    37. Bettendorf, L. & Dijkgraaf, E., 2010. "Religion and income: Heterogeneity between countries," Journal of Economic Behavior & Organization, Elsevier, vol. 74(1-2), pages 12-29, May.
    38. Klain, Sarah C. & Chan, Kai M.A., 2012. "Navigating coastal values: Participatory mapping of ecosystem services for spatial planning," Ecological Economics, Elsevier, vol. 82(C), pages 104-113.
    39. Davis, Lewis & Rodriguez, Zachary, 2024. "Do religious beliefs matter for economic values?," Journal of Institutional Economics, Cambridge University Press, vol. 20, pages 1-1, January.
    40. Arye Hillman, 2007. "Economic and security consequences of supreme values," Public Choice, Springer, vol. 131(3), pages 259-280, June.
    41. Cooper, Nigel & Brady, Emily & Steen, Helen & Bryce, Rosalind, 2016. "Aesthetic and spiritual values of ecosystems: Recognising the ontological and axiological plurality of cultural ecosystem ‘services’," Ecosystem Services, Elsevier, vol. 21(PB), pages 218-229.
    42. Kirchmaier, Isadora & Prüfer, Jens & Trautmann, Stefan T., 2018. "Religion, moral attitudes and economic behavior," Journal of Economic Behavior & Organization, Elsevier, vol. 148(C), pages 282-300.
    43. Sangha, Kamaljit K. & Preece, Luke & Villarreal-Rosas, Jaramar & Kegamba, Juma J. & Paudyal, Kiran & Warmenhoven, Tui & RamaKrishnan, P.S., 2018. "An ecosystem services framework to evaluate indigenous and local peoples’ connections with nature," Ecosystem Services, Elsevier, vol. 31(PA), pages 111-125.
    44. Peter De Lacy & Charlie Shackleton, 2017. "Aesthetic and Spiritual Ecosystem Services Provided by Urban Sacred Sites," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 9(9), pages 1-14, September.
    45. Bryce, Rosalind & Irvine, Katherine N. & Church, Andrew & Fish, Robert & Ranger, Sue & Kenter, Jasper O., 2016. "Subjective well-being indicators for large-scale assessment of cultural ecosystem services," Ecosystem Services, Elsevier, vol. 21(PB), pages 258-269.
    46. Joanna Burger & Michael Gochfeld & Karen Pletnikoff & Ronald Snigaroff & Daniel Snigaroff & Tim Stamm, 2008. "Ecocultural Attributes: Evaluating Ecological Degradation in Terms of Ecological Goods and Services Versus Subsistence and Tribal Values," Risk Analysis, John Wiley & Sons, vol. 28(5), pages 1261-1272, October.
    47. Sander, William, 2002. "Religion and human capital," Economics Letters, Elsevier, vol. 75(3), pages 303-307, May.
    48. Kirchmaier, Isadora & Prüfer, Jens & Trautmann, Stefan T., 2018. "Religion, moral attitudes & economic behavior," Other publications TiSEM 669f51df-0d23-4657-8b16-5, Tilburg University, School of Economics and Management.
    49. Jonathan Gruber, 2005. "Religious Market Structure, Religious Participation, and Outcomes: Is Religion Good for You?," NBER Working Papers 11377, National Bureau of Economic Research, Inc.
    50. Deller, Steven C. & Conroy, Tessa & Markeson, Bjorn, 2018. "Social capital, religion and small business activity," Journal of Economic Behavior & Organization, Elsevier, vol. 155(C), pages 365-381.
    Full references (including those not matched with items on IDEAS)

    Most related items

    These are the items that most often cite the same works as this one and are cited by the same works as this one.
    1. Matthias Basedau & Simone Gobien & Sebastian Prediger, 2018. "The Multidimensional Effects Of Religion On Socioeconomic Development: A Review Of The Empirical Literature," Journal of Economic Surveys, Wiley Blackwell, vol. 32(4), pages 1106-1133, September.
    2. Basedau, Matthias & Gobien, Simone & Prediger, Sebastian, 2017. "The Ambivalent Role of Religion for Sustainable Development: A Review of the Empirical Evidence," GIGA Working Papers 297, GIGA German Institute of Global and Area Studies.
    3. Conroy, Tessa & Deller, Steven, 2021. "Spatial Patterns in the Relationship Between Religion and Economic Growth," Journal of Regional Analysis and Policy, Mid-Continent Regional Science Association, vol. 51(2), April.
    4. Cooper, Nigel & Brady, Emily & Steen, Helen & Bryce, Rosalind, 2016. "Aesthetic and spiritual values of ecosystems: Recognising the ontological and axiological plurality of cultural ecosystem ‘services’," Ecosystem Services, Elsevier, vol. 21(PB), pages 218-229.
    5. Zhang, Yi & Liu, Chun, 2021. "Religion and unproductive entrepreneurship: The role of risk aversion," European Journal of Political Economy, Elsevier, vol. 70(C).
    6. Wang, Qunyong & Lin, Xinyu, 2014. "Does religious beliefs affect economic growth? Evidence from provincial-level panel data in China," China Economic Review, Elsevier, vol. 31(C), pages 277-287.
    7. Chakraborty, Shamik & Gasparatos, Alexandros & Blasiak, Robert, 2020. "Multiple values for the management and sustainable use of coastal and marine ecosystem services," Ecosystem Services, Elsevier, vol. 41(C).
    8. Abellán, Miguel, 2023. "Catholics, Protestants and Muslims: Similar work ethics, different social and political ethics," Journal of Comparative Economics, Elsevier, vol. 51(3), pages 778-815.
    9. Goytom Abraha Kahsay & Workineh Asmare Kassie & Haileselassie Medhin & Lars Gårn Hansen, 2022. "Are religious farmers more risk taking? Empirical evidence from Ethiopia," Agricultural Economics, International Association of Agricultural Economists, vol. 53(4), pages 617-632, July.
    10. Ji, Yaling, 2020. "Religiosity and the adoption of formal financial services," Economic Modelling, Elsevier, vol. 89(C), pages 378-396.
    11. Pierre-Guillaume Méon & Ilan Tojerow, 2018. "In God We Learn? The Universal Messages of Religions, their Context-Specific Effects, and the role of Minority Status," Working Papers CEB 16-036, ULB -- Universite Libre de Bruxelles.
    12. Valencia Caicedo, Felipe & Dohmen, Thomas & Pondorfer, Andreas, 2023. "Religion and cooperation across the globe," Journal of Economic Behavior & Organization, Elsevier, vol. 215(C), pages 479-489.
    13. Kenter, Jasper O., 2016. "Integrating deliberative monetary valuation, systems modelling and participatory mapping to assess shared values of ecosystem services," Ecosystem Services, Elsevier, vol. 21(PB), pages 291-307.
    14. van Hoorn, André & Maseland, Robbert, 2013. "Does a Protestant work ethic exist? Evidence from the well-being effect of unemployment," Journal of Economic Behavior & Organization, Elsevier, vol. 91(C), pages 1-12.
    15. Bryce, Rosalind & Irvine, Katherine N. & Church, Andrew & Fish, Robert & Ranger, Sue & Kenter, Jasper O., 2016. "Subjective well-being indicators for large-scale assessment of cultural ecosystem services," Ecosystem Services, Elsevier, vol. 21(PB), pages 258-269.
    16. Chaudhary, Latika & Rubin, Jared, 2016. "Religious identity and the provision of public goods: Evidence from the Indian Princely States," Journal of Comparative Economics, Elsevier, vol. 44(3), pages 461-483.
    17. Barber, Luke & Jetter, Michael & Krieger, Tim, 2024. "Foreshadowing Mars: Religiosity and pre-Enlightenment conflict in Europe," VfS Annual Conference 2024 (Berlin): Upcoming Labor Market Challenges 302355, Verein für Socialpolitik / German Economic Association.
    18. Pierre-Guillaume Méon & Ilan Tojerow, 2016. "In God We Learn? Religions’ Universal Messages, Context-Specific Effects, and Minority Status," Working Papers CEB 2013/233535, ULB -- Universite Libre de Bruxelles.
    19. Kirchmaier, Isadora & Prüfer, Jens & Trautmann, Stefan T., 2018. "Religion, moral attitudes and economic behavior," Journal of Economic Behavior & Organization, Elsevier, vol. 148(C), pages 282-300.
    20. Mohammad Tariq Al Fozaie, 2023. "Behavior, religion, and socio-economic development: a synthesized theoretical framework," Palgrave Communications, Palgrave Macmillan, vol. 10(1), pages 1-15, December.

    More about this item

    Keywords

    spiritual values; ecosystems; spiritual ecosystem services; spiritual capital; spiritual capital impacts on economies and markets; qualitative meta-analysis;
    All these keywords.

    JEL classification:

    • O10 - Economic Development, Innovation, Technological Change, and Growth - - Economic Development - - - General
    • Q01 - Agricultural and Natural Resource Economics; Environmental and Ecological Economics - - General - - - Sustainable Development
    • Q57 - Agricultural and Natural Resource Economics; Environmental and Ecological Economics - - Environmental Economics - - - Ecological Economics
    • Z12 - Other Special Topics - - Cultural Economics - - - Religion

    Statistics

    Access and download statistics

    Corrections

    All material on this site has been provided by the respective publishers and authors. You can help correct errors and omissions. When requesting a correction, please mention this item's handle: RePEc:pra:mprapa:124399. See general information about how to correct material in RePEc.

    If you have authored this item and are not yet registered with RePEc, we encourage you to do it here. This allows to link your profile to this item. It also allows you to accept potential citations to this item that we are uncertain about.

    If CitEc recognized a bibliographic reference but did not link an item in RePEc to it, you can help with this form .

    If you know of missing items citing this one, you can help us creating those links by adding the relevant references in the same way as above, for each refering item. If you are a registered author of this item, you may also want to check the "citations" tab in your RePEc Author Service profile, as there may be some citations waiting for confirmation.

    For technical questions regarding this item, or to correct its authors, title, abstract, bibliographic or download information, contact: Joachim Winter (email available below). General contact details of provider: https://edirc.repec.org/data/vfmunde.html .

    Please note that corrections may take a couple of weeks to filter through the various RePEc services.

    IDEAS is a RePEc service. RePEc uses bibliographic data supplied by the respective publishers.