National Institute Of Technology

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Religion, it seems, pays. But why? Identifying communities of frequent churchgoers, Massachusetts Institute Of Technology economist Jonathan Gruber found higher incomes and education levels and less welfare participation, along with more marriages and fewer divorces than in the general population. The Religious Market Structure, Religious Participation and Outcomes: Is Religion Good for You? study was published in May for the National Bureau of Economic Research. Comparing national statistics on religion and income, Gruber found higher income and education levels in communities densely populated by a particular religion. In communities where the church attendance rate was double that of the general population, incomes were 9 percent higher, for example. Gruber doesn't purport to know definitively why churchgoers are better off, but he has a few theories after studying the outcomes of communities with high concentrations of people who shared a common religion. Churchgoers have more social contacts and job leads, for one. Or it could be that a church community provides "financial and emotional insurance," as Gruber describes it, referring to financial assistance and emotional support that can help mitigate financial setbacks. A third explanation could center on children's more-frequent attendance in religious schools in these communities, Gruber said, though he - more available