economic growth and dynamism. We leave aside for the moment the debate
and evidence that shows more equal societies tend to experience faster
economic growth (Alesina and Rodrik, 1994, for example). The US General
Social Survey asks whether the US government should act to reduce income
differences between rich and poor. On average religion is positively associated
with attitudes conducive to free market and better institutions. Religious
people trust the government and legal system more, are less willing to break
the law, and are more likely to believe free markets are fair. The relation
between religiosity and market mechanisms (incentives, competition and
private property) is more mixed (Guiso et al., 2003). Catholic, Protestant and
Jewish respondents all have a more negative attitude toward redistribution than
those with no religion and only Protestants are found to favour economic
incentives at the expense of greater inequality (Guiso et al., 2006).
Saving for the future
Weber’s belief that Protestantism promoted a puritanical attitude to consump-
tion and luxury is echoed by many modern economists who have argued that
savings is good for economic growth as it provides a pool of resources avail-
able for investment. There is some weak supporting evidence for this. The
World Values Survey finds that Catholics are 3.8 per cent more likely and
Protestants 2.7 per cent more likely than non-religious people to view teaching
thrift to their children as an important value. The evidence is weak because
these are very small magnitudes and also the surve y has no actual data on
savings by particular ethnic or religious groups. Other evidence for a
culture/savings link is similarly weak. The high savings in many East Asian
countries (30–40 per cent of GDP) and low savings in much of Sub-Saharan
Africa (less than 10 per cent of GDP) have been attributed by some to
‘Confucian ethics’ in the former that emphasize the importance of frugality.
This slightly feeble effort is easily criticized by invoking straightforward alter-
native economic explanations. In East Asia, rapid GDP growth, political and
economic instability, the spread of organizations (banks and post offices), and
absent hyper-inflation have created long-term incentives to save. In Sub-
Saharan Africa high rates of fertility are in themselves a form of savings as
people seek to ensure the survival of sufficient dependents to protect and care
for themselves in old age.
Conclusions
There is fairly consistent evidence in support of Weber, that Protestantism (and
Catholicism a little less so) is good for economic growth. Among Protestants
trust, belief in private ownership, anti-redistribution attitudes and literacy are
stronger than in other religions. There are no consistent results for any other
religion. There are particular problems with distinguishing the effects of
belonging to a religion and participating in regular attendance/worship with
258 Patterns and Determinants of Economic Growth