Archaeology

Patron saint

Religiosity

Economic growth

History

Agriculture

Political science

Economics

Geography

Microeconomics

Economic impact analysis

Productivity

SAINT

Art history

Capital (architecture)

American Economic Review

Does variation in how religious festivals are celebrated have economic consequences? We study the economic impacts of the timing of Catholic patron saint day festivals in Mexico. For causal identification, we exploit cross-locality variation in festival dates and in the timing of agricultural seasons. We estimate the impact of "agriculturally-coinciding" festivals (those coinciding with peak planting or harvest months) on long-run economic development of localities. Agriculturally-coinciding festivals lead to lower household income and worse development outcomes overall. These negative effects are likely due to lower agricultural productivity, which inhibits structural transformation out of agriculture. Agriculturally-coinciding festivals may nonetheless persist because they also lead to higher religiosity and social capital.

Religious Festivals and Economic Development: Evidence from the Timing of Mexican Saint Day Festivals