Working Paper: CEPR ID: DP9709
Authors: Pablo Braasgarza; Antonio M Espn; Shoshana Neuman
Abstract: This study explores the effect of several personal religion-related variables on social behaviour, using three paradigmatic economic games: the dictator (DG), ultimatum (UG), and trust (TG) games. A large carefully designed sample of a Spanish urban adult population (N=766) is employed. From participants? decisions in these games we obtain measures of altruism, bargaining behaviour and sense of fairness/equality, trust, and positive reciprocity. Three dimensions of religiosity are examined: (i) religious denomination; (ii) the intensity of religiosity, measured by active participation at church services; and (iii) converting out into a different denomination than the one raised in.The major results are: (i) individuals with ?no religion? made decisions closer to rational selfish behaviour in the DG and the UG compared to those who affiliate with a ?standard? religious denomination; (ii) among Catholics, intensity of religiosity is the key variable that affects social behaviour insofar as religiously-active individuals are generally more pro-social than non-active ones; and (iii) the religion raised in seems to have no effect on pro-sociality, beyond the effect of the current measures of religiosity. Importantly, behaviour in the TG is not predicted by any of the religion-related variables we analyse. Given the accelerating share of ?no religion? individuals (in Europe and elsewhere) and the large influx of immigrants ? who tend to be more religiously active compared to the native populations ? our findings have significant implications for the future pro-sociality patterns in Europe.
Keywords: Church Attendance; Economic Experiments; Prosocial Behaviour; Religion; Spain
JEL Codes: C7; C9; Z12; Z13
Edges that are evidenced by causal inference methods are in orange, and the rest are in light blue.
| Cause | Effect |
|---|---|
| No religion (Z12) | Rational selfish behaviour in dictator game (C72) |
| Standard religious denomination (Z12) | Less prosocial behaviour in dictator game (C72) |
| Intensity of religiosity (Z12) | Prosocial behaviour among Catholics (Z12) |
| Active participation in church services (Z12) | More prosocial behaviour (D64) |
| Religion raised in (Z12) | Prosociality (D64) |
| Religion-related variables (Z12) | Trust-related behaviours (Z13) |