Advances in the Economics of Religion by Carvalho, Jean-Paul; Iyer, Sriya; Rubin, Jared;

This edited collection brings together expertise from around the globe to overview and debate key concepts and concerns in the economics of religion. While the economics of religion is a relatively new field of research in economics, economists have made and continue to make important contributions to the understanding of religion. There is much scope for economists to continue to make a significant contribution to debates about religion, including its implications for conflict, political economy, public goods, demography, education, finance, trade and economic growth.

1. Introduction (Jean-Paul Carvalho, Sriya Iyer, and Jared Rubin).- Part I: Theoretical Advances in the Economics of Religion.- 2. Religious Clubs: The Strategic Role of Religious Identity (Jean-Paul Carvalho).- 3. Spatial Models of Religious Market Competition: A Critical Assessment (Michael McBride).- 4. When Average is Irrelevant: Computational Modeling of Religious Groups (Michael D. Makowsky).- 5. The Intelligent Design of Religious Beliefs (Gilat Levy).- 6. Religion and Segregation (Ronny Razin).- 7. Religious and Cultural Leaders (Anja Prummer).- 8. Intermediated Social Preferences: Altruism in an Algorithmic Era (Daniel L. Chen).- Part II: Empirical Advances in the Economics of Religion.- 9. Religion and Demography (Sriya Iyer).- 10. Economics and Church State Research: Past, Present, Future (Dan Hungerman and Timothy Weninger).- 11. Protestants and Catholics and EducationalInvestment in Guatemala (Rachel M. McCleary and Robert J. Barro).- 12. The Religious Factor in Private Education in the United States (Danny Cohen-Zada and Moshe Justman).- 13. How Luther’s Quest for Education Changed German Economic History: 9+5 Theses on the Effects of the Protestant Reformation (Sascha O. Becker and Ludger Woessmann).- 14. Hindu-Muslim Violence in India: A Postscript From the 21st Century (Anirban Mitra and Debraj Ray).- 15. Religion and Conflict: A Quantitative Approach (José G. Montalvo and Marta Reynal-Querol).- 16. Why are Some Societies More Religious than Others? (Jeanet Sinding Bentzen).- 17. Socioeconomic Inequality across Religious Groups: Self-Selection or Religion-Induced Human Capital Accumulation? The Case of Egypt (Mohamed Saleh).- 18. Religion and the European Union (Benito Arruñada and Matthias Krapf).- Part III: Advances in Religion and Political Economy.- 19. The Political and Economic Consequences of Religious Legitimacy (Jared Rubin).- 20. Religious Legitimacy and the Joint Evolution of Culture and Institutions (Alberto Bisin, Avner Seror, and Thierry Verdier).- 21. Strategic Interactions between Religion and Politics: the Case of Islam (Jean-Philippe Platteau).- 22. State and Religion: An Economic Approach (Metin M. Coşgel and Thomas J. Miceli).- 23. A Great Academic Re-Awakening: The Return to a Political Economy of Religion (Anthony Gill).- 24. The State, Toleration, and Religious Freedom (Noel Johnson and Mark Koyama).- 25. Religiosity and Economic Performance: The Role of Personal Liberties (Laura Mayoral and Joan Esteban).- 26. Causes and Consequences of Monotheism in the Supply of Religion (Murat Iyigun).- 27. Religion, Political Power and Human Capital Formation: Evidence from Islamic History (Eric Chaney).- 28. Islam, Trade, and Innovation (Alireza Naghavi).