Traditional religious research fails to recognize religion as a market phenomenon. It
especially overlooks supply‐side factors that shape the incentives and opportunities of …

WA/ITH TWO CENTURIES separating its first and second publications, there is no denying
that the economics of religion got off to a slow start. Yet despite this leisurely launch, dozens …

In a largely ignored chapter of The Wealth of Nations, Adam Smith laid the foundation for an
economic theory of religious institutions. Smith emphasized the importance of market …

The rational choice approach attracts various criticisms, many of them unfounded. This
essay defends rational choice as a powerful paradigm for the scientific study of religion. The …

Conventional theories of contract law do not satisfactorily account for laws that restrict
contractual freedom, such as usury laws, the unconscionability and related doctrines, and …

EARL HAMILTON observed many years ago that a'national debt is one of the very few
important economic phenomena without roots in the Ancient World'. 1 The first evidence for …

Financial regulation was as hotly debated a political issue in the 19th century as it is today.
We study the political economy of state usury laws in 19th century America. Exploiting the …

Interest-rate restrictions are pervasive and important regulations. This article suggests that
these restrictions served, in part, as a primitive means of social insurance. Lowering the rate …

Economics can help us understand the evolution and development of religion, from the
market penetration of the Reformation to an exploration of today's hot-button issues …

This paper seeks to explain the initial successes and failures of Protestantism on economic
grounds. It argues that the medieval Roman Catholic Church, through doctrinal …