TY  - RPRT
CY  - Toulouse
ID  - publications21616
UR  - http://tse-fr.eu/pub/27565
A1  - Saleh, Mohamed
Y1  - 2013/08//
N2  - Inter-religion socioeconomic differences are often attributed to religion. Instead, I trace the phenomenon in Egypt to self-selection-on-socioeconomic-status during Egypt’s conversion from Coptic Christianity to Islam. Self-selection was driven by a regressive tax-on-religion that was imposed upon the Arab Conquest of Egypt in 641 and lasted until 1856. Using novel data sources, I document that (a) the long-term trends of the tax, conversions, and the Coptic-Muslim occupational differences are consistent with the selection hypothesis, and (b) districts with a higher tax in 641- 1100 had relatively fewer, but differentially better-off, Copts in 1848-1868. I discuss why the initial selection persisted over time.
PB  - IAST working paper
T3  - IAST working paper
KW  - Religion
KW  - poll tax
KW  - persistence
KW  - conversion
KW  - Middle East
M1  - working_paper
TI  - On the Road to Heaven: Self-Selection, Religion, and Socio-Economic Status
AV  - public
EP  - 77
ER  -