Investigating the Effect of Household Budget Shocks on Household Religious Expenditures

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| 2024

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Type of Document: M.Sc. Thesis
Language: Farsi
Document No: 57156 (44)
University: Sharif University of Technology
Department: Management and Economics
Advisor(s): Rahmati, Mohammad Hossein
Abstract:
In Islam, a solar eclipse is considered a significant event and a sign of the power of Allah (God). During a solar eclipse, Muslims are encouraged to perform a specific prayer. In addition, it symbolizes and reminds believers of the Day of Judgment. The solar eclipse is an exogenous and predictable event with no daily life consequences. Therefore, the only channel that may affect religious spending is a spiritual reference to God. We find that a total solar eclipse within a past quarter significantly increases the likelihood of religious contributions by 2.44 percent, mainly driven by making vows and donating to holy shrines. It also increases the donation sizes and its share in total spending. The results are robust to various specifications and support the hypothesis that believers in an interventionist God ensure themselves by donating when prompting religiosity
Keywords:
Household Budget ; Charity ; Religious Expenditure ; Religious Economy ; Vow

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