Dollars and Jens
Thursday, November 20, 2003
 
Heaven and Hell in This Life and the Next
Here's an unusual kind of economic study:
The most striking conclusion, though, is that belief in the afterlife, heaven and hell are good for economic growth. Of these, fear of hell is by far the most powerful, but all three indicators have a bigger impact on economic performance than merely turning up for church. The authors surmise, therefore, that religion works via belief, not practice.
The whole paper is at NBER's site.


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