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Prof. Dean Yang

University of Michigan, United States

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Authors: Dean Yang, Eduardo Montero and Triana Yentzen

Abstract: How do economic costs affect religious group membership, and how do religious organizations respond to exogenous changes in membership costs? We study these questions in the context of the Seventh-Day Adventist (SDA) church in Sub-Saharan Africa. The SDA church prohibits or strongly discourages tobacco, coffee, and tea production, leading opportunity costs of membership to vary based on local crop suitability and global prices. We construct a measure of SDA membership opportunity cost that varies over time and space. Using detailed church data alongside SDA member surveys, we analyze responses by both members and the church itself. We find that increased opportunity cost of membership leads to fewer new memberships, and more dissatisfaction with the church among current members. In turn, the church pursues offsetting responses, establishing
educational institutions (generating new benefits of membership) and reducing emphasis on some religious tenets (reducing the costs of membership). This study provides new insights that individuals and religious organizations actively respond to economic incentives in the religious marketplace.

JEL Classification: D71, L31, O12, Z12
Keywords: Religion, Seventh-Day Adventist Church, Sub-Saharan Africa

Full Text: The Price of Faith: Economic Costs and Religious Adaptation in Sub-Saharan Africa

Optional subject for students of Charles University - The lectures are conducted Czech language


In the lecture series "Fundamental Social Issues from the point of view of Economics" Filip Matějka and Jan Zápal, professors at CERGE-EI, address current global problems and demonstrate how economics views these issues.

The course is intended for students of all disciplines and academic years who wish to seek answers to questions (or understand why it is difficult to answer) such as: What can governments do, and what can markets do? What about social inequality, the future of work, global warming, threats to democracy, media, and (dis)information? The aim of this course is to familiarize students with the fundamental concepts and ways of thinking of modern economics using real-world social problems.

A total of 6 lessons will take place every Monday from 5:30 PM to 8:30 PM at the Faculty of Arts, nám. Jana Palacha 1/2, Prague 1, in room 300.

Nov 04, 2024: Markets, their functions and regulation. Welfare. Government interventions.
Nov 11, 2024: Global warming. Possible solutions and their issues.
Nov 18, 2024: The future of work and automation. The functioning of the labor market. The impact of education.
Nov 25, 2024: Social, economic, and gender inequality. Its origins and tools for mitigation.
Dec 02, 2024: The functioning of political markets. Current threats to democracy.
Dec 09, 2024: The functioning of media and information markets.

Course code in SIS: JCM039

You can find the course page with current information here.