Religion and Entrepreneurship

28 Pages Posted: 1 Nov 2007

See all articles by David B. Audretsch

David B. Audretsch

Indiana University Bloomington - School of Public & Environmental Affairs (SPEA)

Werner Bönte

Max Planck Institute of Economics

Jagannadha Pawan Tamvada

Max Planck Society for the Advancement of the Sciences - Max Planck Institute for Economics; University of Goettingen (Göttingen)

Date Written: October 30, 2007

Abstract

While considerable concern has emerged about the impact of religion on economic development, little is actually known about how religion impacts the decision making of individuals. This paper examines the influence of religion on the decision for people to become an entrepreneur. Based on a large-scale data set of nearly ninety thousand workers in India, this paper finds that religion shapes the entrepreneurial decision. In particular, some religions, such as Islam and Christianity, are found to be conducive to entrepreneurship, while others, such as Hinduism, inhibit entrepreneurship. In addition, the caste system is found to influence the propensity to become an entrepreneur. Individuals belonging to a backward caste exhibit a lower propensity to become an entrepreneur. Thus, the empirical evidence suggests that both religion and the tradition of the caste system influence entrepreneurship, suggesting a link between religion and economic behavior.

Keywords: entrepreneurship, religion, caste-system, India

JEL Classification: L26, Z12

Suggested Citation

Audretsch, David B. and Bönte, Werner and Tamvada, Jagannadha Pawan, Religion and Entrepreneurship (October 30, 2007). Jena Economic Research Paper No. 2007-075, Available at SSRN: https://ssrn.com/abstract=1025968 or http://dx.doi.org/10.2139/ssrn.1025968

David B. Audretsch

Indiana University Bloomington - School of Public & Environmental Affairs (SPEA) ( email )

1315 East Tenth Street
Bloomington, IN 47405
United States

Werner Bönte

Max Planck Institute of Economics ( email )

Kahlaische Straße 10
Jena, D-07745
Germany

Jagannadha Pawan Tamvada (Contact Author)

Max Planck Society for the Advancement of the Sciences - Max Planck Institute for Economics ( email )

Kahlaische Strasse 10
D-07745 Jena, 07745
Germany

HOME PAGE: http://https://people.econ.mpg.de/~tamvada

University of Goettingen (Göttingen) ( email )

Platz der Gottinger Sieben 3
Gottingen, D-37073
Germany

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