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Is the Importance of Religion in Daily Life Related to Social Trust? - Ratio

PublicationArticle (with peer review)

Is the Importance of Religion in Daily Life Related to Social Trust?

Abstract

We look at the effect of religiosity on social trust, defined as the share of a population that thinks that people in general can be trusted. This is important since social trust is related to many desired outcomes, such as growth, education, democratic stability and subjective well-being. The effect of religiosity is theoretically unclear: while all major religions call for behaving well to others, religious groups may primarily trust people in their own groups and distrust others, as well as cause division in the broader population. We make use of new data from the Gallup World Poll for 105 countries and the U.S. states, measuring religiosity by the share of the population that answers yes to the question “Is religion an important part of your daily life?”. Our empirical results, making use of regression analysis whereby we control for other possible determinants of social trust and, by using instrumental variables, for the risk of reverse causality, indicate a robust, negative effect of religiosity, both internationally and within the US.

Related content: Working Paper No. 142.

Berggren, N. & Bjørnskov, C. (2011). Is the Importance of Religion in Daily Life Related to Social Trust? Cross-Country and Cross-State Comparisons. Journal of Economic Behavior & Organization, 80(3): 459-480.

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Article (without peer review)

Utvärderingar av näringspolitik – en intressekonflikt mellan myndigheter, konsult-företag, politik och skattebetalare?

Colin, E., Sandström, C., & Wennberg, C.

Publication year

2021

Published in

Ekon. Debatt, 49, 30-41.

Abstract

Antalet utvärderingar av ekonomisk politik ökar explosionsartat. Det finns dock få systematiska sammanställningar av de utvärderingar som görs och det saknas kunskap om hur utvärderare skiljer sig åt gällande metoder och slutsatser, inte minst inom näringspolitiken. Vi studerar utvärderingar av 110 näringspoli-tiska insatser 2009–19 genom att granska huruvida valet av utvärderare påver-kar utvärderingarnas resultat. Privata konsulter visar sig vara den vanligaste utvärderaren av näringspolitik och deras utvärderingar skiljer sig från andra utvärderare genom att vara övervägande mer positiva till de utvärderade insat-serna. Vi diskuterar intressekonflikter som kan antas föreligga mellan utvärde-rare, myndigheter, den politiska makten och allmänheten.

Colin, E., Sandström, C., & Wennberg, C. (2021). Utvärderingar av näringspolitik–en intressekonflikt mellan myndigheter, konsultföretag, politik och skattebetalare. Ekon. Debatt, 49, 30-41.

Mer för mindre? Tillväxt och hållbarhet i Sverige

Grafström, J. & Sandström, C.

Publication year

2020

Published in

Abstract

Går det att förena ekonomisk tillväxt med hållbar
utveckling? Den här boken beskriver hur miljöskadliga utsläpp och användningen av naturresurser i
Sverige har förändrats över tid.
Sedan 1990 har Sveriges befolkning ökat med drygt
1,6 miljoner och ekonomin nästan fördubblats. Samtidigt har koldioxidutsläppen minskat med 27 procent mellan åren 1990 och 2018, konsumtionen av
el, vatten och energi har stått still vilket innebär att
ekonomin är nästan dubbelt så effektiv. Av de 26
luftföroreningar Naturvårdsverket mätt sedan 1990
har 24 gått ner fram till 2017. I många fall har det
skett mer än en halvering.

Article (with peer review)

Explaining the homogeneous diffusion of COVID-19 nonpharmaceutical interventions across heterogeneous countries

Sebhatu, A., Wennberg, K., Arora-Jonsson, S., Stefan & Lindberg, S.I.

Publication year

2020

Published in

Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences

Abstract

Abstract

We analyze the adoption of nonpharmaceutical interventions in the Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD) countries during the early phase of the coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) pandemic. Given the complexity associated with pandemic decisions, governments are faced with the dilemma of how to act quickly when their core decision-making processes are based on deliberations balancing political considerations. Our findings show that, in times of severe crisis, governments follow the lead of others and base their decisions on what other countries do. Governments in countries with a stronger democratic structure are slower to react in the face of the pandemic but are more sensitive to the influence of other countries. We provide insights for research on international policy diffusion and research on the political consequences of the COVID-19 pandemic.

Details

Author: Berggren, N. & Bjørnskov, C.
Publication year: 2011
Published in: Journal of Economic Behavior & Organization, Working Paper No. 142