Does a Protestant work ethic exist? Evidence from the well-being effect of unemployment

André van Hoorn and Robbert Maseland

Journal of Economic Behavior & Organization, 2013, vol. 91, issue C, 1-12

Abstract: Evidence on Weber's original thesis on a Protestant work ethic is ambiguous and relies on questionable measures of work attitudes. We test the relation between Protestantism and work attitudes using a novel method, operationalizing work ethic as the effect of unemployment on individuals’ subjective well-being. Analyzing a sample of 150,000 individuals from 82 societies, we find strong support for a Protestant work ethic: unemployment hurts Protestants more and hurts more in Protestant societies. Whilst the results shed new light on the Protestant work ethic debate, the method has wider applicability in the analysis of attitudinal differences.

Keywords: Values; Religion; Happiness; Preferences; Culture; Weber (search for similar items in EconPapers)
JEL-codes: J20 J60 P50 Z12 (search for similar items in EconPapers)
Date: 2013
References: View references in EconPapers View complete reference list from CitEc
Citations: View citations in EconPapers (14)

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Persistent link: https://EconPapers.repec.org/RePEc:eee:jeborg:v:91:y:2013:i:c:p:1-12

DOI: 10.1016/j.jebo.2013.03.038

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