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Title: "Dealing with Adversity: Religiosity or Science? Evidence from the Great Influenza Pandemic"

Citation Type: Miscellaneous

Publication Year: 2023

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Abstract: How do societies respond to adversity? After a negative shock, separate strands of research have documented either an increase in religiosity or a boost in innovation efforts. In this paper, we show that both reactions can occur simultaneously, driven by different individuals within society. The setting of our study is the Influenza pandemic of 1918-19 in the United States. To measure religiosity, we construct a novel indicator based on naming patterns, and we measure innovation through the universe of granted patents. Exploiting plausibly exogenous variation in exposure to the pandemic, we provide evidence that more affected counties become both more religious and more innovative. Looking within counties, we uncover a heterogeneous response: individuals from more religious backgrounds further embrace religion, while those from less religious ones become more likely to choose a scientific occupation. Facing adversity widens the distance in religiosity between scientific-minded individuals and the rest of the population, and it leads to a polarization of religious beliefs.

Url: https://dcoluccia.github.io/docs/DealingWithAdversity.pdf

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Authors: Squicciarini, Mara; Berkes, E; Coluccia, D; Dossi, G

Publisher: Harvard Economics

Data Collections: IPUMS USA - Ancestry Full Count Data

Topics: Health, Population Health and Health Systems

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