Church Membership and Social Insurance: Evidence from the Great Mississippi Flood of 1927
50 Pages Posted: 26 Nov 2014 Last revised: 16 Jun 2015
There are 3 versions of this paper
Church Membership and Social Insurance: Evidence from the Great Mississippi Flood of 1927
Church Membership and Social Insurance: Evidence from the Great Mississippi Flood of 1927
Church Membership and Social Insurance: Evidence from the American South
Date Written: November 26, 2014
Abstract
Religious organizations are key providers of social insurance. This paper focuses on the devastating impact of the Great Mississippi Flood of 1927 to investigate how an increase in the demand for social insurance affects church membership. We find a significant increase in church membership in flooded counties. This effect is stronger in counties with severe economic losses and where access to credit was limited. Consistent with economic theories stressing the insurance aspect of religious organizations, we show that denominations with a relatively large church network, or classified as strict and charity-oriented, gained more members in flooded counties.
Keywords: Religion; Informal Insurance; Club Goods; Natural Disasters
JEL Classification: Z12; H40; D70
Suggested Citation: Suggested Citation