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Jay C. Hartzell
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Journal Articles
Publisher: Journals Gateway
The Review of Economics and Statistics (2016) 98 (3): 415–427.
Published: 01 July 2016
Abstract
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We study the role of labor inputs in religious attendance using data on Oklahoma Methodist congregations from 1961 to 2003. Pastors play a significant role in church growth: replacing a 25th percentile pastor with a 75th percentile one increases annual attendance growth by 3%. A pastor’s performance in his or her first church (largely the result of random assignment) predicts future performance, suggesting a causal effect of pastors on growth. The deployment of pastors by the church indicates efficient use of labor: low-performing pastors are more likely to be rotated or exit the sample, and high-performing pastors are moved to larger congregations.
Includes: Supplementary data