Education, Social Mobility and Religious Movements: A Theory of the Islamic Revival in Egypt

Christine Binzel and Jean-Paul Carvalho

No 7259, IZA Discussion Papers from Institute of Labor Economics (IZA)

Abstract: This paper examines the economic origins of the Islamic revival that took place in Egypt in the 1970-80s, and in Muslim societies more generally. We provide the first systematic evidence of a decline in social mobility among educated youth in Egypt. Developing a behavioral model of religion, we then characterize conditions under which a temporary decline in social mobility produces a large and long-lasting rise in religious participation. Religion in our model helps to cope with loss, which occurs when one's consumption falls below an expectations-based reference point. The model provides an explanation for why the educated middle class were in the vanguard of the Islamic revival. Rather than undermining religious belief and participation, our analysis suggests that economic development can make societies more prone to religious revivals.

Keywords: social movements; inequality; social mobility; education; Islamic revival; Egypt (search for similar items in EconPapers)
JEL-codes: D10 D63 I24 J24 J62 O10 Z12 Z13 (search for similar items in EconPapers)
Pages: 51 pages
Date: 2013-03
New Economics Papers: this item is included in nep-ara and nep-evo
References: View references in EconPapers View complete reference list from CitEc
Citations: View citations in EconPapers (26)

Published - revised version published in: Economic Journal, 2017, 127 (607), 2553 - 2580

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