Tools
Tools
Saleh, Mohamed
(2013)
On the Road to Heaven: Self-Selection, Religion, and Socio-Economic Status.
IAST working paper, n. 13-04, Toulouse
Preview |
Text
Download (1MB) | Preview |
Abstract
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.
| Item Type: | Monograph (Working Paper) |
|---|---|
| Language: | English |
| Date: | August 2013 |
| Place of Publication: | Toulouse |
| Uncontrolled Keywords: | Religion, poll tax, persistence, conversion, Middle East |
| JEL Classification: | N35 - Asia including Middle East O15 - Human Resources; Human Development; Income Distribution; Migration |
| Subjects: | B- ECONOMIE ET FINANCE |
| Divisions: | TSE-R (Toulouse) |
| Institution: | Université Toulouse 1 Capitole |
| Site: | UT1 |
| Date Deposited: | 14 Jun 2016 14:53 |
| Last Modified: | 02 Apr 2021 15:53 |
| OAI Identifier: | oai:tse-fr.eu:27565 |
| URI: | https://publications.ut-capitole.fr/id/eprint/21616 |
Available Versions of this Item
- On the Road to Heaven: Self-Selection, Religion, and Socio-Economic Status. (deposited 14 Jun 2016 14:53) [Currently Displayed]
