Religious participation and children's education : a social capital approach
Document Type
Journal article
Source Publication
Journal of Economic Behavior & Organization
Publication Date
2-1-2008
Volume
65
Issue
2
First Page
303
Last Page
317
Publisher
Elsevier BV
Keywords
Religious participation, Human capital, Social capital
Abstract
Based on the argument in both economic and sociological literature that religion is conducive to children’s human capital formation, this paper provides a model of religious participation and explores a mechanism that “social capital” affects children’s education, a la Coleman [Coleman, J.S., 1988. Social capital in the creation of human capital. American Journal of Sociology 94, S95–S120]. The model generates several interesting implications, which help explain some important stylized facts about education and religion. Further, in a dynamic setting, the model shows that there exists a steady state in which individuals allocate a positive amount of time and resources to religious activities. Thus, it complements the existing literature to explain why seemingly unproductive religions can be everlasting.
DOI
10.1016/j.jebo.2005.11.002
Print ISSN
01672681
Publisher Statement
Copyright © 2006 Elsevier B.V
Access to external full text or publisher's version may require subscription.
Full-text Version
Publisher’s Version
Language
English
Recommended Citation
Fan, C. S. (2008). Religious participation and children's education: A social capital approach. Journal of Economic Behavior & Organization, 65(2), 303-317. doi: 10.1016/j.jebo.2005.11.002