Is religion an inferior good? Evidence from fluctuations in housing wealth

Luc Laeven, Alexander Popov and Clara Sievert

Journal of Economic Behavior & Organization, 2024, vol. 217, issue C, 705-725

Abstract: An increase in local house prices in the US is associated with a decrease in the time homeowners spend on religious activities compared to renters. Notably, this effect is not observed in volunteering and civic activities. The decline in religious activities is more pronounced for credit-constrained households. The main result is attributed to a wealth effect, whereby activities that have an inferior-good component decline with housing wealth, and to a substitution effect whereby the attractiveness of activities linked to the residential asset increases during housing booms.

Keywords: Homeownership; House prices; Social capital; Religion; Time allocation (search for similar items in EconPapers)
JEL-codes: E21 J22 O18 R2 Z12 (search for similar items in EconPapers)
Date: 2024
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Working Paper: Is Religion an Inferior Good? Evidence from Fluctuations in Housing Wealth (2023)
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Persistent link: https://EconPapers.repec.org/RePEc:eee:jeborg:v:217:y:2024:i:c:p:705-725

DOI: 10.1016/j.jebo.2023.11.030

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