The Role of Political, Religious, and Social Institutions in Economic Development

The Role of Political, Religious, and Social Institutions in Economic Development PDF Author: Olutade Okediji
Publisher:
ISBN:
Category : Developing countries
Languages : en
Pages : 492

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The Role of Political, Religious, and Social Institutions in Economic Development

The Role of Political, Religious, and Social Institutions in Economic Development PDF Author: Olutade Okediji
Publisher:
ISBN:
Category : Developing countries
Languages : en
Pages : 492

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Book Description


Religion in International Politics and Development

Religion in International Politics and Development PDF Author: J. A. Rees
Publisher: Edward Elgar Publishing
ISBN: 0857936441
Category : Religion
Languages : en
Pages : 225

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Book Description
This unique and fascinating book illustrates that in moving the research agenda forward despite whatever methodological pitfalls that may await in the attempt the dynamics of religion must now be considered to be of central and abiding importance in the study of world politics. An illuminating case study of the World Bank s engagements with religion/faith communities, institutions and social movements provides insights into the current discourse on religion in international relations. John A. Rees argues that religion is of equal importance to other structures of international relations (IR), and questions where religion is operating in world politics rather than what religion is in an essential sense. He constructs a new model for differentiating three distinct discourses of religion in the theory and practice of world politics, which he applies to the IR sphere of international development, and encourages new thinking in the field by answering conceptual and methodological challenges in religion research. This book will prove an enlightening point of reference for academics and researchers in the fields of religion, world politics, international relations, and development studies, as well as for international organisations, development theorists and practitioners working in conjunction with faith-based organisations.

Social Institutions and Economic Development

Social Institutions and Economic Development PDF Author: Valpy FitzGerald
Publisher: Springer Science & Business Media
ISBN: 0306481596
Category : Business & Economics
Languages : en
Pages : 213

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Book Description
Jan Pronk The role of institutions in economic development has been debated at length. It is a major chapter in the history of economic thought. It was also a key - sue in comparisons of the effectiveness of Eastern and Western economic systems. Understanding the variety of social and cultural institutions has - ways been crucial in analysing development processes in Africa, Asia, the Middle East and Latin America. Less attention has been given to institutions in studies of the economic performance of Western countries. This may be because economic policies in the West were mostly oriented to the short and medium terms rather than to the long-term perspective. In the short run ins- tutions are given, in the long run they lend themselves for change. From the outset, economic institutions (e.g. markets, enterprises) and their underlying values (e.g. efficiency, economicfreedom) received much - tention. Similar attention was given to political institutions (the state, government, the law) and values (democracy, accountability, human rights). Thought also turned to social institutions (entrepreneurship, the middle class, the family household, land-tenure systems) and social values (tradition, gender and age relations, justice). Studies soon followed of cultural insti- tions (religion, ethnicity) and values (material consumerism or the bond between man and nature). Without the insight gained by studying insti- tions, economics would have become a dull discipline.

Rulers, Religion, and Riches

Rulers, Religion, and Riches PDF Author: Jared Rubin
Publisher: Cambridge University Press
ISBN: 110703681X
Category : Business & Economics
Languages : en
Pages : 297

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Book Description
This book seeks to explain the political and religious factors leading to the economic reversal of fortunes between Europe and the Middle East.

Advances in the Economics of Religion

Advances in the Economics of Religion PDF Author: Jean-Paul Carvalho
Publisher: Springer
ISBN: 3319988484
Category : Business & Economics
Languages : en
Pages : 485

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Book Description
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.

Culture, Institutions, and Development

Culture, Institutions, and Development PDF Author: Jean-Philippe Platteau
Publisher: Routledge
ISBN: 9780203843338
Category : Business & Economics
Languages : en
Pages : 280

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Book Description
Does culture matter? This question has taken on added significance since fundamentalist revivalism has recently gained ground in different parts of the world. The old controversy between Max Weber and Karl Marx, which centres around the extent to which cultural factors such as social norms and values affect economic growth is of critical importance, particularly because of its policy implications. Indeed, if culture is not an autonomous factor susceptible to influencing economic realities, it should not matter and public authorities can dispense with thinking about cultural interventions. On the other hand, if culture does have a real impact, the question arises as to whether it is conducive or detrimental to economic growth, political liberalization, and the emancipation of individuals among other things. Culture, Institutions, and Development addresses this debate at a concrete level by looking at five important issues: the role of tradition and its influence on development; the role of religion, with special reference to Middle Eastern countries; the role of family, kinship, and ethnic ties in the process of development; the relationship between culture and entrepreneurship; and the relationship between culture and poverty. This collection offers a nuanced view that neither denies nor exaggerates the role of cultural factors in explaining relative growth performances across countries. Instead, the contributors focus on the dynamic, two-way relationship between culture and development in a way that stresses policy stakes and the value of multidisciplinary collaboration between economists, historians and other social scientists. This book will be of interest to postgraduates and researchers in all the social sciences, as well as to professionals working in national development agencies, international organisations, and Non-Governmental Organisations.

The Wealth of Religions

The Wealth of Religions PDF Author: Rachel M. McCleary
Publisher: Princeton University Press
ISBN: 0691217106
Category : Business & Economics
Languages : en
Pages : 212

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Book Description
How religious beliefs and practices can influence the wealth of nations Which countries grow faster economically—those with strong beliefs in heaven and hell or those with weak beliefs in them? Does religious participation matter? Why do some countries experience secularization while others are religiously vibrant? In The Wealth of Religions, Rachel McCleary and Robert Barro draw on their long record of pioneering research to examine these and many other aspects of the economics of religion. Places with firm beliefs in heaven and hell measured relative to the time spent in religious activities tend to be more productive and experience faster growth. Going further, there are two directions of causation: religiosity influences economic performance and economic development affects religiosity. Dimensions of economic development—such as urbanization, education, health, and fertility—matter too, interacting differently with religiosity. State regulation and subsidization of religion also play a role. The Wealth of Religions addresses the effects of religious beliefs on character traits such as work ethic, thrift, and honesty; the Protestant Reformation and its long-term effects on education and religious competition; Communism’s suppression of and competition with religion; the effects of Islamic laws and regulations on the functioning of markets and, hence, on the long-term development of Muslim countries; why some countries have state religions; analogies between religious groups and terrorist organizations; the violent origins of the Dalai Lama’s brand of Tibetan Buddhism; and the use by the Catholic Church of saint-making as a way to compete against the rise of Protestant Evangelicals. Timely and incisive, The Wealth of Religions provides fresh insights into the vital interplay between religion, markets, and economic development.

Religion and Comparative Development

Religion and Comparative Development PDF Author: Theocharis Grigoriadis
Publisher: Edward Elgar Publishing
ISBN: 9781788110013
Category :
Languages : en
Pages : 176

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Book Description
Religion and Comparative Development is the first analytical endeavor on religion and government that incorporates microeconomic modeling of democracy and dictatorship as well as empirical linkages between religious norms and the bureaucratic provision of public goods within the framework of survey data analysis and public goods experiments. Moreover, it explores the rising significance of religion in Middle East and post-Soviet politics, as well as in current migration, security and party developments in the United States and Europe alike through these lenses. This book underscores the significance of religion as a crucial factor for political development and economic transformation, suggesting that all world religions can offer pathways to peace and development through different institutional channels. With a multiplicity of methods (statistical modeling, game theory, lab-in-the-field experiments, comparative historical analysis), the author observes how religion impacts political economy and international politics, and not always negatively. This demystification of religion goes beyond the classical discussion on the role of religion in the public sphere and sets the grounds for explaining why some economies are more likely to be democracies and others dictatorships. Researchers, graduate and undergraduate students of economics and social sciences, and faculty members who are interested in cutting-edge research on economics and culture will want this book in their collection. It insights will also be useful for policy-makers, administrators, historians, and civic organizations.

The Economics of Religion in India

The Economics of Religion in India PDF Author: Sriya Iyer
Publisher: Harvard University Press
ISBN: 0674989295
Category : History
Languages : en
Pages : 209

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Book Description
Religion has not been a popular target for economic analysis. Yet the tools of economics can offer deep insights into how religious groups compete, deliver social services, and reach out to potential converts—how, in daily life, religions nurture and deploy market power. Sriya Iyer puts these tools to use in an expansive, creative study of India, one of the most religiously diverse countries in the world. Iyer explores how growth, inequality, education, technology, and social trends both affect and are affected by religious groups. Her exceptionally rich data—drawn from ten years of research, including a survey of almost 600 religious organizations in seven states—reveal the many ways religions interact with social welfare and political conflict. After India’s economy was liberalized in 1991, she shows, religious organizations substantially increased their provision of services, compensating for the retreat of the state. Iyer’s data also indicate that religious violence is more common where economic growth is higher, apparently because growth increases inequality, which sectarian politicians might exploit to encourage hostility toward other religions. As inequality leads to social polarization, religious doctrines become more extreme. But there are hopeful patterns in Iyer’s data, too. Religious organizations, on balance, play a positive role in India’s socioeconomic development, and women’s participation in religious life is on the rise. The Economics of Religion in India has much to teach us about India and other pluralistic societies the world over, and about the power of economics to illuminate some of societies’ deepest beliefs and dynamics.

Social Institutions and Development

Social Institutions and Development PDF Author: Daniel Peter Egel
Publisher:
ISBN:
Category :
Languages : en
Pages : 354

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Book Description
This dissertation studies the role of social institutions in economic development. While other research has examined the role of ethnicity, religion and other types of large-scale social organizations in development, I study the impact of two different types of local social organizations in two very different contexts. The first social institution that I study are the tribes of modern Yemen and the second is the Freemasons of the United States in the nineteenth century. I demonstrate that both have had an important impact on development, with the first affecting a political patronage network that functions through the education system and the second having a direct impact on the development of the American educational system. The first chapter examines the relationship between political patronage and tribes, a key social institution in the developing world. Patronage is a tool used throughout the world to reward political allies. Here I create a dataset of Yemeni tribes to explore their role in an educational patronage network that accounts for upwards of 6% of the entire Yemeni government budget. My analysis has two key results. First, conditional on a rich set of controls, I find that the number of tribes has a significant impact on the quantity of patronage. This impact is negative between regions, though positive within regions, as regions with more tribes have less patronage while sub-regions with more tribes have more patronage. The contrast between these effects illustrates the differing influence of tribes in local and national politics. Second, I find no evidence that a recent decentralization reform affected this patronage network. This analysis provides insight into how pre-Islamic institutions have an important role in the development outcomes of the Muslim Middle East and why decentralization reforms proposed for countries similar to Yemen, such as Afghanistan and Somalia, may be ineffective in weakening the power of local elites. The second chapter examines the role that American Freemasonry played in the historical expansion of the American educational system. I demonstrate that 19th century Freemasonry had a significant positive impact on educational enrollment during and after the rapid rise of the ̀common school' in the late 19th century. And in what is a striking example of the ̀path dependence' of social institutions, I show that this effect persisted through the expansion of American high schools in the 1910s-1940s even after the waning of the influence of this organization. Interestingly, Freemasonry's impact was particularly significant in areas that were the most heterogeneous - both ethnically and religiously. This, combined with the the further observation that areas with more Freemasons had higher levels of local taxation, suggests that Freemasonry helped communities overcome the common good problem. As Freemasons did not tend to migrate to areas with existing public education systems, this effect is not driven by reverse causality. And I use a panel data set of enrollment to provide evidence that unobserved heterogeneity and endogeneity are not driving the observed relationship. The third chapter, which is a co-authored project with Bryan Graham and Cristine Campos de Xavier Pinto, develops a new empirical tool of significant utility for empirical economists studying issues such as those faced in the other chapters. It presents a new estimator, based on minimum empirical discrepancy (MD) methods, for a class of data combination problems. In these problems the researcher does not have access to a random sample containing measurements of all required variables, Z=(W', X', Y'). Instead two separate samples are available. The first is drawn from the study population of interest and contains Ns measurements of (Y, W). The second is drawn from an auxiliary population and contains Na measurements of (X, W). The first step of our procedure involves using MD methods to re-weight the auxiliary sample in order to match study sample moments of W, the variable common to the two datasets. Sample moments from the study and re-weighted auxiliary samples are then combined to estimate the parameter of interest. We show that our estimator's asymptotic variance coincides with the relevant variance bound under two auxiliary parametric restrictions, but only requires one of these two restrictions to hold for consistency (̀double robustness'). Our procedure can be used to estimate the average treatment effect on the treated (ATT), the two sample instrumental variables (TSIV) model, counterfactual earnings distributions, and to construct poverty maps. We compare our estimator with leading alternatives in an illustrative study of the effect of National Supported Work (NSW) demonstration participation on earnings and in a series of Monte Carlo experiments.