The Law and Economics of Church and State

Mark's post (below) inspires me to pass on the abstract from Professor Keith Hylton's (a top-tier law-and-economics scholar) latest paper, "Church and State:  An Economic Analysis": : What purpose is served by a government’s protection of religious liberty? Many have been suggested, the most prominent of which center on the protection of freedom of belief and expression. However, since every regulation potentially interferes with religious freedom, it is useful to consider more concrete purposes that could suggest limits on the degree to which religious liberty should be protected. This paper focuses on the concrete economic consequences of state regulation of religion. We examine the effects of state regulation on corruption, economic growth, and inequality. The results suggest that laws and practices burdening religion enhance corruption. Laws and practices burdening religion reduce economic growth, while laws and practices subsidizing religion enhance growth. Lastly, laws burdening religion are positively associated with inequality.

Rick

Abstract