BEGIN:VCALENDAR
VERSION:2.0
PRODID:-//Talks.cam//talks.cam.ac.uk//
X-WR-CALNAME:Talks.cam
BEGIN:VEVENT
SUMMARY:The Economics of Religion in India - Dr. Sriya Iyer\, University o
 f Cambridge\, Faculty of Education
DTSTART:20140218T123000Z
DTEND:20140218T133000Z
UID:TALK50508@talks.cam.ac.uk
CONTACT:Bryony Horsley-Heather
DESCRIPTION:Ever wondered about the wider impact of religion in India and 
 about its effect on economic development? Although India is becoming more 
 wealthy\, rising social inequality\, especially in poorer states\, often c
 auses religious organisations to step in to the breach left by the lack of
  public provision\, especially in the areas of education and healthcare. T
 his talk examines religious and non-religious service provision by religio
 us organizations in India\, the manner in which religious organisations ar
 e diversifying and their economic impact. An economic model shows how reli
 gious competition and economic inequality encourage organizations to diffe
 rentiate their strength of religious beliefs and increase their non-religi
 ous services to retain adherents. To test our model\, we present unique pr
 imary survey data on the economics of religion\, collected between 2006 an
 d 2008 from 568 Hindu\, Muslim\, Christian\, Sikh and Jain religious organ
 izations spread across 7 Indian states. The data demonstrate that these or
 ganizations have substantially increased their provision of religious and 
 non-religious services. We also provide evidence based on econometric test
 ing to highlight that religious organizations are differentiating themselv
 es on the strength of religious beliefs with respect to other organization
 s\, and are also providing higher education and health services as economi
 c inequality increases in India.
LOCATION:Room GS1\, Donald McIntyre Building\, Faculty of Education\, 184 
 Hills Road\, Cambridge CB2 8PQ
END:VEVENT
END:VCALENDAR