Person: McCleary, Rachel
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McCleary
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Rachel
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McCleary, Rachel
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Publication Protestantism and Human Capital in Guatemala and the Republic of Korea(2013) McCleary, RachelProtestant missions from the United States entered the Republic of Korea and Guatemala at the same time (1884 and 1882, respectively). Yet, their impact on human capital has been divergent. The analysis presented in this paper supports the findings of Woodberry (2004, 2009, 2011) and Nunn (2009) in the case of the Republic of Korea. Mainline Protestant missions — Presbyterian and Methodist — promoted the Social Gospel and were the largest in the Republic of Korea implementing successful strategies such as using Korean (Hangul) as the lingua franca in their schools, churches, and medical facilities. Whereas the mainline Protestant denominations in the Republic of Korea successfully promoted investment in human capital, the case of Guatemala does not follow this pattern. Evangelical, Pentecostal, and neo-Pentecostal denominations and churches focused their efforts on evangelizing. Their premilliennialist beliefs translated into an eschatological urgency of conversion with little investment in human capital. As a result, institution-building requisite for investment in human capital (establishing educational institutions and medical facilities) characterized Protestant missions in the Republic of Korea, but not Guatemala. These diverging approaches to exporting Christianity have had differing longterm effects on the two societies.Publication Which Countries Have State Religions?(Published for Harvard University by the MIT Press, 2005) Barro, Robert; McCleary, RachelAmong 188 countries, 72 had no state religion in 2000, 1970, and 1900; 58 had a state religion throughout; and 58 had 1 or 2 transitions. We use a Hotelling spatial competition model to analyze the likelihood that the religion market would be monopolized. Similar forces influence a government’s decision to establish a state religion. Consistent with the model, the probability of state religion in 1970 and 2000 is increasing with the adherence rate to the main religion, has a nonlinear relation with population, and has little relation with per capita GDP. The probability of state religion decreases sharply under Communism, but lagged Communism has only a weak effect. With costly adjustment for institutions, the probability of state religion in 1970 or 2000 depends substantially on the status in 1900. This persistence is much stronger for countries with no major regime change than for countries with such a change.Publication Religion and Economic Growth across Countries(American Sociological Association, 2003) Barro, Robert; McCleary, RachelEmpirical research on the determinants of economic growth typically neglects the influence of religion. To fill this gap, this study uses international survey data on religiosity for a broad panel of countries to investigate the effects of church attendance and religious beliefs on economic growth. To isolate the direction of causation from religiosity to economic performance, the estimation relies on instrumental variables suggested by an analysis in which church attendance and religious beliefs are the dependent variables. The instruments are variables for the presence of state religion and for regulation of the religion market, the composition of religious adherence, and an indicator of religious pluralism. Results show that economic growth responds positively to religious beliefs, notably beliefs in hell and heaven, but negatively to church attendance. That is, growth depends on the extent of believing relative to belonging. These results accord with a model in which religious beliefs influence individual traits that enhance economic performance. The beliefs are an output of the religion sector, and church attendance is an input to this sector. Hence, for given beliefs, higher church attendance signifies more resources used up by the religion sector.Publication Religion and Political Economy in an International Panel(National Bureau of Economic Research, 2002) Barro, Robert; McCleary, RachelEconomic and political developments affect religiosity, and the extent of religious participation and beliefs influence economic performance and political institutions. We study these two directions of causation in a broad cross-country panel that includes survey information over the last 20 years on church attendance and an array of religious beliefs. Although religiosity declines overall with economic development, the nature of the response varies with the dimension of development. Church attendance and religious beliefs are positively related to education (thereby conflicting with theories in which religion reflects non-scientific thinking) and negatively related to urbanization. Attendance also declines with higher life expectancy and lower fertility. We investigate the effects of official state religions, government regulation of the religion market, Communism, religious pluralism, and the denominational composition of religious adherence. On the other side, we find that economic growth responds positively to the extent of some religious beliefs but negatively to church attendance. That is, growth depends on the extent of believing relative to belonging. These results hold up when we use as instrumental variables the measures of official state religion, government regulation, and religious pluralism.Publication The Formation of the Tibetan State Religion: The Geluk School 1419-1642(Center for International Development at Harvard University, 2007-12) McCleary, Rachel; van der Kuijp, Leonard W.J.Monopolistic competition of Tibetan Buddhism by the eleventh-twelfth century allowed for many schools and sects to develop with little differentiation in religious products. The rise of the Ming dynasty (1368-1424) represented a significant shift in Yuan foreign policy toward Tibetan affairs. Ming disengagement of China in Tibet translated into a liberalization of local politics with one major pattern emerging: a shift from secular politics and clan wealth to ecclesiastical monastic institutions. The Geluk sect formed during this period, successfully introducing superior technology in its organizational characteristics (celibacy, ordained abbots, casuistical adherence, scholastic training and doctrinal orthodoxy). The club model formation of the Gelukpa distinguished it from other schools and sects, reinforcing the technological superiority of its organization. With the loss of its major Tibetan patron, the Gelukpa facing extinction by its fiercest competitor, the Karmapa, raised the stakes by introducing the incarnate position of the Dalai Lama and his labrang (financial estate). The introduction of the incarnate Dalai Lama represented a technological improvement in that the Gelukpa could now directly compete for wealthy patrons with their fiercest competitor, the Karmapa. By forming an alliance with a foreign power (Mongols), the Gelukpa were willing to use extreme violence to become the state religion.