The Economic Effects of the Protestant Reformation: Testing the Weber Hypothesis in the German Lands

Davide Cantoni

Discussion Papers in Economics from University of Munich, Department of Economics

Abstract: Following Max Weber, many theories have hypothesized that Protestantism should have favored economic development. With its religious heterogeneity, the Holy Roman Empire presents an ideal testing ground for this hypothesis. Using population figures of 272 cities in the years 1300–1900, I find no effects of Protestantism on economic growth. The finding is precisely estimated, robust to the inclusion of various controls, and does not depend on data selection or small sample size. Protestantism has no effect when interacted with other likely determinants of economic development. Instrumental variables estimates, considering the potential endogeneity of religious choice, are similar to the OLS results.

Keywords: Protestantism; Culture; Economic Growth; Historical Development; Germany (search for similar items in EconPapers)
JEL-codes: N13 N33 O11 Z12 (search for similar items in EconPapers)
Date: 2013-03
New Economics Papers: this item is included in nep-evo and nep-his
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Citations: View citations in EconPapers (26)

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Related works:
Journal Article: THE ECONOMIC EFFECTS OF THE PROTESTANT REFORMATION: TESTING THE WEBER HYPOTHESIS IN THE GERMAN LANDS (2015)
Working Paper: The Economic Effects of the Protestant Reformation: Testing the Weber Hypothesis in the German Lands (2015)
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