Religion and household saving behavior

Abstract

We examine the effect of religion on household saving behavior. For a sample of 12,686 U.S. households between 2000 and 2016, we find that religious households (i.e., households that have a religious affiliation) are more likely to hold savings accounts than non-religious households. Furthermore, using religious upbringing as an instrument, we show that religion-induced economic attitudes, such as future time preference and risk aversion, increase household saving propensity. Finally, the positive association between religious affiliation and saving propensity is more pronounced for Catholics than Protestants. Overall, our study highlights the importance of religion in shaping households’ saving behavior. (JEL G51, Z12, D14, D91)