Recent insights on the role of religion in economic history | VOX, CEPR Policy Portal - 0 views
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The study of religion in economic history covers two broad areas of investigation. The first area is which (economic) factors cause religious adoption, religiosity, and religious change. The second area is which consequences religion exerts on economic development, seeking the ‘deep roots’ of larger economic differences between regions and religious communities.
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the monotheistic character of the main Abrahamic religions facilitated a close historical interconnection of religion with political power and conflict
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human capital often played a leading role in the interconnection between religion and economic history
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the recent literature has produced ample evidence that socioeconomic factors matter in the historical development of religions
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In addition to human capital, the Reformation has been shown to have affected secularisation, political change, technology diffusion, and social outcomes
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recent works on missionaries show that early access to Christian missions still has educational, political, and economic consequences in present-day sub-Saharan Africa, Asia, and Latin America
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Various works have shown how the presence of Islam in law and politics has affected economic outcomes such as corporate development, usury restrictions, conflict, finance, and human capital development
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Maybe the most challenging direction for future research is to dig deeper into the link between economics and religiosity rather than religious affiliation – what people think and feel and which specific beliefs they do and do not adhere to. Measuring religiosity and beliefs is demanding in contemporary work, and it is even harder in the historical context where the option of fielding a survey is no longer viable
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While recent work has clearly shown that religion has played an important role in economic history, there remains ample room, not least for multidisciplinary approaches, to advance our understanding of how religious thoughts and activities changed people’s economic lives over the course of history.