Human capital and the supply of religion

• Autores: Joseph Engelberg, Raymond Fisman, Jay C. Hartzell, Christopher A. Parsons
• Localización: The Review of economics and statistics, ISSN 0034-6535, Vol. 98, Nº 3, 2016, págs. 415-427
• Idioma: inglés
• DOI: 10.1162/rest_a_00582
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• Resumen

  • We study the role of labor inputs in religious attendance using data on Oklahoma Methodist congregations from 1961 to 2003. Pastors play a significant role in church growth: replacing a 25th percentile pastor with a 75th percentile one increases annual attendance growth by 3%. A pastor's performance in his or her first church (largely the result of random assignment) predicts future performance, suggesting a causal effect of pastors on growth. The deployment of pastors by the church indicates efficient use of labor: low-performing pastors are more likely to be rotated or exit the sample, and high-performing pastors are moved to larger congregations