|
Showing 1 - 3 of
3 matches in All Departments
This edited collection brings together expertise from around the
globe to overview and debate key concepts and concerns in the
economics of religion. While the economics of religion is a
relatively new field of research in economics, economists have made
and continue to make important contributions to the understanding
of religion. There is much scope for economists to continue to make
a significant contribution to debates about religion, including its
implications for conflict, political economy, public goods,
demography, education, finance, trade and economic growth.
This edited collection brings together expertise from around the
globe to overview and debate key concepts and concerns in the
economics of religion. While the economics of religion is a
relatively new field of research in economics, economists have made
and continue to make important contributions to the understanding
of religion. There is much scope for economists to continue to make
a significant contribution to debates about religion, including its
implications for conflict, political economy, public goods,
demography, education, finance, trade and economic growth.
Religion has not been a popular target for economic analysis. Yet
the tools of economics can offer deep insights into how religious
groups compete, deliver social services, and reach out to potential
converts-how, in daily life, religions nurture and deploy market
power. Sriya Iyer puts these tools to use in an expansive, creative
study of India, one of the most religiously diverse countries in
the world. Iyer explores how growth, inequality, education,
technology, and social trends both affect and are affected by
religious groups. Her exceptionally rich data-drawn from ten years
of research, including a survey of almost 600 religious
organizations in seven states-reveal the many ways religions
interact with social welfare and political conflict. After India's
economy was liberalized in 1991, she shows, religious organizations
substantially increased their provision of services, compensating
for the retreat of the state. Iyer's data also indicate that
religious violence is more common where economic growth is higher,
apparently because growth increases inequality, which sectarian
politicians might exploit to encourage hostility toward other
religions. As inequality leads to social polarization, religious
doctrines become more extreme. But there are hopeful patterns in
Iyer's data, too. Religious organizations, on balance, play a
positive role in India's socioeconomic development, and women's
participation in religious life is on the rise. The Economics of
Religion in India has much to teach us about India and other
pluralistic societies the world over, and about the power of
economics to illuminate some of societies' deepest beliefs and
dynamics.
|
You may like...
Knapsekerels
Pieter Fourie
Paperback
R175
R137
Discovery Miles 1 370
|