Religious Festivals and Economic Development: Evidence from the Timing of Mexican Saint Day Festivals

Eduardo Montero and Dean Yang

No 28821, NBER Working Papers from National Bureau of Economic Research, Inc

Abstract: Does variation in how religious festivals are celebrated have economic consequences? We study the economic impacts of the timing of Catholic patron saint day festivals in Mexico. For causal identification, we exploit cross-locality variation in festival dates and in the timing of agricultural seasons. We estimate the impact of “agriculturally-coinciding” festivals (those coinciding with peak planting or harvest months) on long-run economic development of localities. Agriculturally-coinciding festivals lead to lower household income and worse development outcomes overall. These negative effects are likely due to lower agricultural productivity, which inhibits structural transformation out of agriculture. Agriculturally-coinciding festivals may nonetheless persist because they also lead to higher religiosity and social capital.

JEL-codes: N36 O1 Z12 (search for similar items in EconPapers)
Date: 2021-05
New Economics Papers: this item is included in nep-evo and nep-his
Note: DEV POL
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Citations: View citations in EconPapers (3)

Published as Eduardo Montero & Dean Yang, 2022. "Religious Festivals and Economic Development: Evidence from the Timing of Mexican Saint Day Festivals," American Economic Review, vol 112(10), pages 3176-3214.

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