Insuring consumption and happiness through religious organizations
By: Rajeev Dehejia, Thomas DeLeire, Erzo F.P. Luttmer.
Contributors: DeLeire, Thomas C.; Luttmer, Erzo F. P.; National Bureau of Economic Research.
Series: NBER working paper series ;; working paper 11576; Working paper series (National Bureau of Economic Research : Online) ;; working paper no. 11576.
Publisher: National Bureau of Economic Research
Published: 2005
Place of publication: Cambridge, MA
Language: eng
Format: Electronic resource
Subjects: Religions -- Economic aspects -- United States; Happiness -- Economic aspects -- United States; Happiness -- Religious aspects -- United States; Religious institutions -- United States
Description: "This paper examines whether involvement with religious organizations insures an individual's stream of consumption and of happiness.  Using data from the Consumer Expenditure Survey (CEX), we examine whether households who contribute to a religious organization are able to insure their consumption stream against income shocks and find strong insurance effects for whites.  Using the National Survey of Families and Households (NSFH), we examine whether individuals who attend religious services are able to insure their stream of happiness against income shocks and find strong happiness insurance effects for blacks but smaller effects for whites.  Overall, our results are consistent with the view that religion provides an alternative form of insurance for both whites and blacks though the mechanism by which religious organizations provide insurance to each of these groups appears to be different"--National Bureau of Economic Research web site.
Notes: Includes bibliographical references.
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