| dc.description.abstract | This paper assesses the theory that Protestantism has caused income growth during recent decades in Latin America. Focusing on Guatemala and using individual-level data from Demographic and Health Surveys, I find, contrary to this theory, that Protestants and non-Protestants are no different along a variety of economic outcomes. Furthermore, using growth in the density of lights at night to proxy for income growth at the municipality level, I find that municipalities with a higher share of Protestants have similar income growth to other municipalities. Finally, I find that proximity to Catholic parishes in 1925 has a negative impact on the probability an individual is a Protestant today. Thus, I use Catholic parish proximity to instrument for Protestantism today and provide IV estimates that cannot confirm effects of Protestantism on income. However, I do find one link between Protestantism and income: persistent positive effects of Evangelical and Presbyterian missionaries on education and income. This paper contributes to the literature on the effects of religion on economic development while focusing on a specific context and question that have not yet been studied. | |
