Template-Type: ReDIF-Paper 1.0
Title: Religion as Social Insurance: Evidence From the Great Mississippi Flood of 1927
Author-Name: Philipp Ager
Author-Email: philipp.ager@uni-mannheim.de
Author-Name: Casper Worm Hansen
Author-Email: casper.worm.hansen@econ.ku.dk
Author-Name: Ezra Karger
Author-Email: ezra.karger@chi.frb.org
Author-Name: Lars Lønstrup
Author-Email: larloe@dtu.dk
Classification-JEL: Z12, H40, D70
Keywords: Conservative religion, Informal Insurance; Club Goods; Economic Hardship

Abstract: This paper studies the impact of the Great Mississippi Flood of 1927 on religious participation.
We find a sharp increase in church membership in flooded areas that persists into modern times.
This increase is more pronounced in conservative churches that provided more social insurance
to members and had larger social costs to join. Access to alternative forms of insurance reduced
the flood’s impact on the uptake of church membership, consistent with religious organizations
acting as social insurance providers. The flood did not affect families’ likelihood of choosing
religious names for their children: a more costly measure of religious belief.

Note: 
Length: 57
Creation-Date: 2024-10
Revision-Date:
File-URL: https://www.crctr224.de/research/discussion-papers/archive/dp603
File-Format: application/pdf
Handle: RePEc:bon:boncrc:CRCTR224_2024_603