Religion and Labor Market Performance: Is It What You Believe or How Much?

A growing corpus of literature has explored the influence religion on economic attitudes and behavior. The present paper investigates effect labor market performance using a novel approach to control for endogeneity religion. It proposes contingency experience, individual experiences existential insecurity, as an instrumental variable person’s religiosity. empirical analysis uses data from household survey in South Africa specifically designed this study. econometric is estimation ordered probit linear probability models. Using Centrality Religiosity Scale (CRS), differentiates between effects religious intensity affiliation. findings show that religiosity, measured CRS, robust positive performance. Religious affiliation does not seem affect religiosity documented set binary outcome models across different indicators study concludes belief exerts outcomes, while communities (indicating content belief) make difference.