Search Results

View Selected Citations Select and View All Search Citations

Author: Hungerman, Daniel M.

Resulting in 3 citations.

1.	Gruber, Jonathan Hungerman, Daniel M.
1.	The Church versus the Mall: What Happens When Religion Faces Increased Secular Competition? Quarterly Journal of Economics 123,2 (May 2008): 831-862. Also: http://qje.oxfordjournals.org/content/123/2/831.abstract Cohort(s): NLSY79 Publisher: MIT Press Keyword(s): Alcohol Use; Drug Use; Legislation; Religion; Religious Influences; State-Level Data/Policy Recently economists have begun to consider the causes and consequences of religious participation. An unanswered question in this literature is the effect upon individuals of changes in the opportunity cost of religious participation. In this paper, we identify a policy-driven change in the opportunity cost of religious participation based on state laws that prohibit retail activity on Sunday, known as "blue laws." Many states have repealed these laws in recent years, raising the opportunity cost of religious participation. We use a variety of data sets to show that when a state repeals its blue laws religious attendance falls and that church donations and spending fall as well. These results do not seem to be driven by declines in religiosity prior to the law change, nor do we see comparable declines in membership in or giving to nonreligious organizations after a state repeals its laws. We then assess the effects of changes in these laws on drinking and drug use behavior in the NLSY. We find that repealing blue laws leads to an increase in drinking and drug use and that this increase is found only among the initially religious individuals who were affected by the blue laws. The effect is economically significant; for example, the gap in heavy drinking between religious and nonreligious individuals falls by about half after the laws are repealed.
	Bibliography Citation Gruber, Jonathan and Daniel M. Hungerman. "The Church versus the Mall: What Happens When Religion Faces Increased Secular Competition?" Quarterly Journal of Economics 123,2 (May 2008): 831-862.

2.	Gruber, Jonathan Hungerman, Daniel M.
2.	The Church vs the Mall: What Happens When Religion Faces Increased Secular Competition? NBER Working Paper No. 12410, National Bureau of Economic Research, August 2006. Also: http://papers.nber.org/papers/w12410.pdf Cohort(s): NLSY79 Publisher: National Bureau of Economic Research (NBER) Keyword(s): Alcohol Use; Behavior; Drug Use; Legislation; Religious Influences; State-Level Data/Policy Recently economists have begun to consider the causes and consequences of religious participation. An unanswered question in this literature is the effect upon individuals of changes in the opportunity cost of religious participation. In this paper we identify a policy-driven change in the opportunity cost of religious participation based on state laws that prohibit retail activity on Sunday, known as "blue laws." Many states have repealed these laws in recent years, raising the opportunity cost of religious participation. We construct a model which predicts, under fairly general conditions, that allowing retail activity on Sundays will lower attendance levels but may increase or decrease religious donations. We then use a variety of datasets to show that when a state repeals its blue laws religious attendance falls, and that church donations and spending fall as well. These results do not seem to be driven by declines in religiosity prior to the law change, nor do we see comparable declines in membership or giving to nonreligious organizations after a state repeals its laws. We then assess the effects of changes in these laws on drinking and drug use behavior in the NLSY. We find that repealing blue laws leads to an increase in drinking and drug use, and that this increase is found only among the initially religious individuals who were affected by the blue laws. The effect is economically significant; for example, the gap in heavy drinking between religious and non religious individuals falls by about half after the laws are repealed.
	Bibliography Citation Gruber, Jonathan and Daniel M. Hungerman. "The Church vs the Mall: What Happens When Religion Faces Increased Secular Competition?" NBER Working Paper No. 12410, National Bureau of Economic Research, August 2006.

3.	Hungerman, Daniel M.
3.	Do Religious Proscriptions Matter? Evidence from a Theory-Based Test Working Paper No. 17375. National Bureau of Economic Research, August 2011. Also: http://www.nber.org/papers/w17375 Cohort(s): NLSY79 Publisher: National Bureau of Economic Research (NBER) Keyword(s): Alcohol Use; Behavior; General Social Survey (GSS); Modeling; Religion; Social Influences A large literature shows that religious participation is associated with a wide range of behaviors and outcomes, but what drives this association is unclear. On the one hand, this association may stem from correlations in preferences, where those with tastes for religion coincidentally have particular tastes for other behaviors as well. Alternately, religious participation may directly affect behavior; for example many religious organizations impose rules and proscriptions on their members and these rules may affect members’ decisions. Using the canonical economic model of religiosity, I develop an empirical test to investigate the importance of religious proscriptions on behavior. Several empirical applications of this test are conducted; the results indicate a strong role for religious proscriptions in determining behavior. The test developed here does not require an instrumental variable for religion and could be applied to the study of criminal gangs, terrorist organizations, fraternities, communes, political groups, and other “social clubs.”
	Bibliography Citation Hungerman, Daniel M. "Do Religious Proscriptions Matter? Evidence from a Theory-Based Test." Working Paper No. 17375. National Bureau of Economic Research, August 2011.

Admin