Religiosity as a Determinant of Happiness
GIGA Working Paper No 163
26 Pages Posted: 24 Aug 2012
There are 2 versions of this paper
Religiosity as a Determinant of Happiness
Date Written: April 1, 2011
Abstract
We find a U‐shaped relation between happiness and religiosity in cross‐country panel data after controlling for income levels. At a given level of income, the same level of happiness can be reached with high and low levels of religiosity, but not with intermediate levels. A rise in income causes an increase in happiness along with a decline of religiosity. Our interpretation of the empirical results is that the indifference curves for religiosity and other commodities of the utility function are hump‐shaped.
Keywords: Happiness, religiosity, utility function, long-run development
JEL Classification: I31, Z12, O11
Suggested Citation: Suggested Citation