Insuring consumption and happiness through religious organizations

Rajeev Dehejia, Thomas DeLeire, Erzo F.P. Luttmer

Research output: Contribution to journalArticlepeer-review

Abstract

This paper examines whether involvement with religious organizations can help insure consumption and happiness. Using data from the Consumer Expenditure Survey (CEX), we find that households who contribute to a religious organization are better able to insure their consumption against income shocks. Using the National Survey of Families and Households (NSFH), we find that individuals who attend religious services are better able to insure their happiness against income shocks. Overall, our results suggest that religious organizations provide insurance though the form of this insurance may differ by race.

Original languageEnglish (US)
Pages (from-to)259-279
Number of pages21
JournalJournal of Public Economics
Volume91
Issue number1-2
DOIs
StatePublished - Feb 2007

Keywords

  • Informal insurance
  • Religion
  • Social networks

ASJC Scopus subject areas

  • Finance
  • Economics and Econometrics

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