Religious Market Competition and Clergy Salary

Michelle W. Trawick and Stephen E. Lile

American Journal of Economics and Sociology, 2007, vol. 66, issue 4, pages 747-763

Abstract: We utilize a rich and unique data source covering 13,825 Southern Baptist Convention churches in seven Southern states to test the impact of religious market competition, or pluralism, on clergy salary. We link county-level religious market and socioeconomic data to the county in which each church is located. Two measures of religious output market are used. One is a narrow output market definition calculated using only SBC churches. The other is a more broadly defined measure calculated using 132 Judeo-Christian denominations. Using regression analysis, we conclude that greater concentration among Southern Baptist Churches' members within a given county area has a positive, and statistically significant, impact on Southern Baptist clergy salaries, while greater concentration among other denominations has no impact on Southern Baptist clergy salaries. Most importantly, we show that Southern Baptist Churches exhibit predictable economic behavior despite the ethereal nature of the product they provide. Copyright 2007 American Journal of Economics and Sociology, Inc..

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