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Hell Boosts Economy
29 Jul 2004 11:05 amBelief in hell correlates to a higher per capita income. No, really, read it here.
In that article is a table listing "Percent Who Believe in Hell" and "Per Capita Income in 2001 Dollars". The body of the article points out that the US (71% and $34,320) and Ireland (53% and $32,410) are near the top of the list as far as belief in Hell, and are #1 and #2 in income..
Also near the top of the list are Turkey(85% and $5,890) and Nigeria (51% and $850). The #3, 4 and 5 ranked per capita incomes are Iceland, Norway, and Denmark, coming in at 12%, 19% and 10%. The connection seems to be fairly weak.
The authors say they were using belief in hell as a measure of religous belief. The sample is 35 countries.
The article (after a recent re-edit) attempts to show a correlation between "fear-of-hell" and corruption, and then corruption and per capita income. That they are comparing the ranking of the countries rather than an actual rating weakens the argument considerably.
The source for this article? The Federal Reserve Bank of St. Louis.
In that article is a table listing "Percent Who Believe in Hell" and "Per Capita Income in 2001 Dollars". The body of the article points out that the US (71% and $34,320) and Ireland (53% and $32,410) are near the top of the list as far as belief in Hell, and are #1 and #2 in income..
Also near the top of the list are Turkey(85% and $5,890) and Nigeria (51% and $850). The #3, 4 and 5 ranked per capita incomes are Iceland, Norway, and Denmark, coming in at 12%, 19% and 10%. The connection seems to be fairly weak.
The authors say they were using belief in hell as a measure of religous belief. The sample is 35 countries.
The article (after a recent re-edit) attempts to show a correlation between "fear-of-hell" and corruption, and then corruption and per capita income. That they are comparing the ranking of the countries rather than an actual rating weakens the argument considerably.
The source for this article? The Federal Reserve Bank of St. Louis.
