TY  - JOUR
AU  - Benjamin,Daniel J.
AU  - Choi,James J.
AU  - Fisher,Geoffrey W.
TI  - Religious Identity and Economic Behavior
JF  - National Bureau of Economic Research Working Paper Series
VL  - No. 15925
PY  - 2010
Y2  - April 2010
UR  - http://www.nber.org/papers/w15925
L1  - http://www.nber.org/papers/w15925.pdf
N1  - Author contact info:
Daniel J. Benjamin
Economics Department
Cornell University
480 Uris Hall
Ithaca, NY 14853
Tel: 607/255-2355
Fax: 607/255-2818
E-Mail: daniel.benjamin@gmail.com

James J. Choi
Yale School of Management
135 Prospect Street
P.O. Box 208200
New Haven, CT 06520-8200
E-Mail: james.choi@yale.edu

Geoffrey Fisher
California Institute of Technology
E-Mail: geoffrey.w.fisher@gmail.com
AB  - We randomly vary religious identity salience in laboratory subjects to test how identity salience contributes to six hypothesized links from prior literature between religious identity and economic behavior. We find that religious identity salience makes Protestants increase contributions to public goods. Catholics decrease contributions to public goods, expect others to contribute less to public goods, and become less risk averse. Jews more strongly reciprocate as an employee in a bilateral labor market gift-exchange game. We find no evidence of religious identity salience effects on disutility of work effort, discount rates, or generosity in a dictator game.
ER  -