Islam and Economic Performance: A Meta-Analysis
| Author: | Mgr. Patrik Kratochvíla |
|---|---|
| Year: | 2021 - summer |
| Leaders: | prof. PhDr. Tomáš Havránek Ph.D. |
| Consultants: | |
| Work type: | Finance, Financial Markets and Banking Masters |
| Language: | English |
| Pages: | 137 |
| Awards and prizes: | |
| Link: | https://dspace.cuni.cz/handle/20.500.11956/150219 |
| Abstract: | The ongoing economic supremacy of the West has prompted debates on the ability of non-Christian religions to generate economic growth. The academic literature focusing on the Islamic religion o↵ers multiple answers, leaving the matter unresolved and with no definite conclusion. Based on a quantitative survey of 315 estimates collected from 41 relevant academic studies, Islam exerts a positive and statistically significant e↵ect on economic growth in 40% of cases, a negative and statistically significant e↵ect in 10% of cases, and virtually zero e↵ect in 50% of cases. Tests for publication bias indicate slightly preferential reporting against negative estimates. When I correct for this bias, I find that the mean e↵ect of Islam on economic growth is positive but economically small. I also construct 79 moderator variables capturing methodological heterogeneity among the primary studies and apply the method of Bayesian model averaging to deal with model uncertainty in meta-analysis. The analysis shows that the heterogeneity in the results is primarily driven by di↵erences in the sample composition and the choice of control variables, and to a lesser extent by estimation characteristics and proxies for Islam employed. |
