Divine Policy: The Impact of Religion in Government
Published in AEJ: Applied Economics (Forthcoming), 2026
I had the chance to collaborate on this paper as a research assistant. The paper examines the impact of policies on personal values and beliefs by exploiting the staggered introduction of the faith-based initiatives across US states. A difference-in-differences analysis reveals that the initiatives strengthened religiosity and conservative-religious social views, such as attitudes against homosexuals.
Recommended citation: Divine Policy: The Impact of Religion in Government (2026). Jeanet Sinding Bentzen, Alessandro Pizzigolotto and Lena Lindbjerg Sperling. Forthcoming at the AEJ: Applied Economics. Previously circulated under the title God Politics.
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