Communism as the unhappy coming

Djankov, Simeon ORCID: 0000-0002-0822-6456 and Nikolova, Elena (2018) Communism as the unhappy coming. Financial Markets Group Discussion Papers (773). Financial Markets Group, The London School of Economics and Political Science, London, UK.

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Abstract

We show that Eastern Orthodox believers are less happy compared to those of Catholic and Protestant faith using data covering more than 100 countries around the world. Consistent with the happiness results, we also find that relative to Catholics, Protestants and non-believers, those of Eastern Orthodox religion have less social capital and prefer old ideas and safe jobs. In addition, Orthodoxy is associated with left-leaning political preferences and stronger support for government involvement in the economy. Compared to non-believers and Orthodox adherents, Catholics and Protestants are less likely to agree that government ownership is a good thing, and Protestants are less likely to agree that getting rich can only happen at the expense of others. These differences in life satisfaction and other attitudes and values persisted despite the fact that communist elites sought to eradicate church-going in Eastern Europe, since communists maintained many aspects of Orthodox theology which were useful for the advancement of the communist doctrine. The findings are consistent with Berdyaev's (1933, 1937) hypothesis of communism as a successor of Orthodoxy.

Item Type:	Monograph (Discussion Paper)
Official URL:	https://www.fmg.ac.uk/
Additional Information:	© 2018 The Authors
Divisions:	Financial Markets Group
Subjects:	H Social Sciences > HC Economic History and Conditions H Social Sciences > HG Finance
JEL classification:	D - Microeconomics > D0 - General > D02 - Institutions: Design, Formation, and Operations P - Economic Systems > P3 - Socialist Institutions and Their Transitions > P35 - Public Economics Z - Other Special Topics > Z1 - Cultural Economics; Economic Sociology; Economic Anthropology > Z12 - Religion
Date Deposited:	31 May 2023 23:03
Last Modified:	01 Nov 2024 04:10
URI:	http://eprints.lse.ac.uk/id/eprint/118940

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