Are Religious People More Prosocial? A Quasi-Experimental Study with Madrasah Pupils in a Rural Community in India

Ali M. Ahmed ()
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Ali M. Ahmed: Department of Economics, School of Business, Economics and Law, Göteborg University, Postal: Box 640, SE 40530 GÖTEBORG

No 330, Working Papers in Economics from University of Gothenburg, Department of Economics

Abstract: Using quasi-experimental data, this paper examines the relationship between religiosity and prosocial behavior. In contrast to previous studies which identify religious people by how often they attend religious services or by their self-reported religiosity, this study compares the behavior of highly devout students who are preparing to enter the clergy, to the behavior of other students in a public-goods game and in the dictator game. The results show that religious students were significantly more cooperative in the public-goods game and significantly more generous in the dictator game than other students.

Keywords: generosity; trust; cooperation; religion; experiment (search for similar items in EconPapers)
JEL-codes: C90 Z12 (search for similar items in EconPapers)
Pages: 20 pages
Date: 2008-12-08
New Economics Papers: this item is included in nep-cwa, nep-exp, nep-ltv and nep-soc
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Citations: View citations in EconPapers (2)

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Persistent link: https://EconPapers.repec.org/RePEc:hhs:gunwpe:0330

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