The Effects of Religion and Denomination on Earnings and the Returns to Human Capital

Abstract

The effects of religious and denominational background on earnings and the returns to human capital are examined. When religious differences are constrained to be additive, apart from a Jewish differential, there is virtually no evidence that religious or denominational background affects earnings. This contrasts with Greeley's claims of sizable Catholic advantage. In separate earnings regressions we find that the marginal returns to Catholics from college education exceed those to similar Protestants. This offsets the disadvantage of lower precollege returns. Earnings differences between Protestant denominations appear to reflect the sorting of Protestants into denominations according to schooling and income.

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