Product Variety in Religious Markets

Brooks Hull and Frederick Bold

Review of Social Economy, 1998, vol. 56, issue 1, 1-19

Abstract: This paper analyzes the relationship between religious market product variety and church membership. We find that denominational variety is negatively associated with the total level of church membership in U.S. counties. This result appears 10 contradict the standard religious product variety model. Our data are consistent with a more general view of markets that incorporates the cost to consumers of product variety. Where product variety has significant costs, an increase in variety may reduce total market penetration. The paper suggests market characteristics that might give rise to this situation, characteristics present in the religion market.

Keywords: religion; church; product variety; concentration (search for similar items in EconPapers)
Date: 1998
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Citations: View citations in EconPapers (9)

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DOI: 10.1080/00346769800000001

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