Wages, Religion and the Great Recession in the United States

Abstract

This study examines the relationship between wages and religious affiliation for non-Hispanic whites in the United States before and after the Great Recession, utilising the Panel Study of Income Dynamics 2005 and 2011 data. Wage differentials were estimated at the mean using longitudinal Generalised Least Squares models and along the wage distribution using quantile regressions. The results suggest a strong association between wages and religious affiliation for both men and women during both periods. Before the Recession, wage differentials by religious affiliation followed similar patterns for men and women except that gender differences were apparent for Mormons — women earned lower wages, whereas men earned higher wages than their mainline Protestant counterparts. After the Recession, all groups experienced wage declines at the mean. However, the quantile regression estimates revealed that men at low wages and women at high wages experienced wage decline, while women at low wages and men at median wages experienced wage increases.