Subject. The article addresses the impact of religious confession on wages and the likelihood of unemployment in Russia. Objectives. The aim is to test the hypothesis that religious faith and high church attendance are accompanied by an increase in employment earnings. Methods. Using the Russian Longitudinal Monitoring Survey data, I estimate the Mincer's extended equation with variables that characterize the respondent’s religious commitment. To assess the impact of religious identity and the activity rate of attendance at religious services on the likelihood of unemployment and life satisfaction, I use probit models. Results. The estimates demonstrate that the Russian labor market rewards men with moderate and high degree of religious commitment; their wage growth reaches seventeen percent of the level of non-believers with comparable education and work experience. However, faithful Muslim women are employed in the lowest paid areas. Religious faith and regular church attendance have a positive effect on satisfaction with life (significant for Orthodox Christian women). Conclusions. Positive impact of religious capital on income and employment can be attributed to the development of business qualities that are rewarded in the labor market, the mutual support of religious network participants. Therefore, it possible to consider religious capital, along with educational capital and health capital, as a component of human capital and a factor of socio-economic development.
Keywords: economics of religion, religious capital, human capital, labor market, subjective well being
References:
Iyer S. The New Economics of Religion. Journal of Economics Literature, 2016, vol. 54, no. 2, pp. 395–411. URL: Link
Smith A. An Inquiry into the Nature and Causes of the Wealth of Nations. London, W. Strahan and T. Cadell, 1776.
Weber M. The Protestant Ethic and the Spirit of Capitalism. London, George Allen & Unwin Ltd., 1930.
Basedau M. et al. The Multidimensional Effects of Religion on Socioeconomic Development: A Review of the Empirical Literature. Journal of Economic Surveys, 2018, vol. 32, no. 4, pp. 1106–1133. URL: Link
Barro R.J., McCleary R.M. Religion and Economic Growth Across Countries. American Sociological Review, 2003, vol. 68, no. 5, pp. 760–781. URL: Link
McCleary R.M., Barro R.J. Religion and Political Economy in an International Panel. Journal for the Scientific Study of Religion, 2006, vol. 45, no. 2, pp. 149–175. URL: Link
Guiso L., Sapienza P., Zingales L. People's Opium? Religion and Economic Attitudes. Journal of Monetary Economics, 2003, vol. 50, no. 1, pp. 225–282. URL: Link00202-7
La Porta R., Lopez-de-Silanes F., Shleifer A., Vishny R.W. Trust in Large Organizations. The American Economic Review, 1997, vol. 87, no. 2, pp. 333–338. URL: Link
Tomes N. Religion and the Rate of Return on Human Capital: Evidence from Canada. The Canadian Journal of Economics, 1983, vol. 16, no. 1, pp. 122–138. URL: Link
Tomes N. The Effects of Religion and Denomination on Earnings and the Returns to Human Capital. The Journal of Human Resources, 1984, vol. 19, no. 4, pp. 472–488. URL: Link
Tomes N. Religion and the Earnings Function. The American Economic Review, 1985, vol. 75, no. 2, pp. 245–250. URL: Link
Chiswick B.R. The Earnings and Human Capital of American Jews. The Journal of Human Resources, 1983, vol. 18, no. 3, pp. 313–336. URL: Link
Chiswick C.U. An Economic Perspective on Religious Education: Complements and Substitutes in a Human Capital Portfolio. Research in Labor Economics, 2006, vol. 24, pp. 449–467. URL: Link24014-1
Davila A., Mora M.T. Changes in the Earnings of Arab Men in the US between 2000 and 2002. Journal of Population Economics, 2005, vol. 18, no. 4, pp. 587–601. URL: Link
Kaushal N., Kaestner R., Reimers C. Labor Market Effects of September 11th on Arab and Muslim Residents of the United States. The Journal of Human Resources, 2007, vol. 42, no. 2, pp. 275–308. URL: Link
Cornelissen T., Jirjahn U. September 11th and the Earnings of Muslims in Germany – The Moderating Role of Education and Firm Size. Journal of Economic Behavior and Organization, 2012, vol. 81, no. 2, pp. 490–504. URL: Link
Dilmaghani M. Religiosity and Labour Earnings in Canadian Provinces. Journal of Labor Research, 2017, vol. 38, no. 1, pp. 82–99. URL: Link
Paul G. The Chronic Dependence of Popular Religiosity upon Dysfunctional Psychosociological Conditions. Evolutionary Psychology, 2009, vol. 7, no. 3, pp. 398–441. URL: Link
Delamontagne G. High Religiosity and Societal Dysfunction in the United States During the First Decade of the Twenty-First Century. Evolutionary Psychology, 2010, vol. 8, no. 4, pp. 617–657. URL: Link
Edgell P., Gerteis J., Hartmann D. Atheists as “Other”: Moral Boundaries and Cultural Membership in American Society. American Sociological Review, 2006, vol. 71, no. 2, pp. 211–234. URL: Link
Azzi C., Ehrenberg R. Household Allocation of Time and Church Attendance. Journal of Political Economy, 1975, vol. 83, no. 1, pp. 27–56. URL: Link
Greene K.V., Yoon B.J. Religiosity, Economics and Life Satisfaction. Review of Social Economy, 2004, vol. 62, no. 2, pp. 245–261. URL: Link
Hung-Lin Tao. What Makes Devout Christians Happier? Evidence from Taiwan. Applied Economics, 2008, vol. 40, no. 7, pp. 905–919. URL: Link
Diener E., Tay L., Myers D.G. The Religion Paradox: If Religion Makes People Happy, Why Are So Many Dropping Out? Journal of Personality and Social Psychology, 2011, vol. 101, no. 6, pp. 1278–1290. URL: Link
Mincer J.A. Schooling, Experience, and Earnings. N.Y., National Bureau of Economic Research, 1974, 167 p.
Heckman J.J. Sample Selection Bias as a Specification Error. Econometrica, 1979, vol. 47, no. 1, pp. 153–161. URL: Link
