Economics of Religion
Organized by Samuel Bazzi, Nathan Nunn, and Jared Rubin
Supported by Templeton Religion Trust
November 14, 2026
Hyatt Regency San Francisco, Five Embarcadero Center, Room Waterfront CDE, San Francisco, CA
Friday, November 13
6:00 pm
Reception and Group Dinner at the hotel, Upper Atrium
Saturday, November 14
8:30 am
Continental Breakfast
9:00 am

Predicting Protestantism: Writing, Biography and Conversion during the Reformation

Marcel J. Caesmann, Vienna University of Economics and Business (WU)
Hans-Joachim Voth, University of Zurich

Discussant:
Riccardo Di Cato, University of California, San Diego
9:30 am

The Arab Slave Trade and the Diffusion of Islam in Africa

Lydia Assouad, London School of Economics and Political Science (LSE)
Giulia Buccione, CEMFI
Kian Williams, London School of Economics and Political Science (LSE)

Discussant:
Prashant Poddar, University of Oxford
10:00 am

The Price of Faith: Economic Costs and Religious Adaptation in Sub-Saharan Africa

Eduardo Montero, The University of Chicago and NBER
Dean Yang, University of Michigan and NBER
Triana Yentzen, University of Michigan

Discussant:
Youn Baek, New York University
10:30 am
Break
11:00 am

Intergenerational Religious Persistence in the United States

Kristina Butaeva, The University of Chicago
Renato De Angelis, The University of Chicago
Steven N. Durlauf, The University of Chicago and NBER
Weiqi Wang, The University of Chicago

Discussant:
Lucas Lopez. Manuel, Univeristy of Vigo
11:30 am

The Supernatural and the Commons

Christopher Costello, University of California, Santa Barbara and NBER
Kelsey Jack, University of California, Berkeley and NBER
Tamatoa Bambridge, French National Centre for Scientific Research (CNRS)

Discussant:
Adil Ahsan, Harvard University
12:00 pm
Lunch - Lower Attrium
1:00 pm

Peace Derailed: The Effects of Mass Protests on Religious Conflict in South Asia

Rikhil R. Bhavnani, University of Wisconsin - Madison
Saumitra Jha, Stanford University

Discussant:
Daniil Starikov, The University of Chicago
1:30 pm

Risky Business? Religiosity and Risk-Taking in Full-Population Danish Data

Jeanet Bentzen, University of Copenhagen
Gunes Gokmen, Lund University
Anne Sofie B. Knudsen, University of Copenhagen

Discussant:
Elijah Locke, Boston University
2:00 pm

Separation of Church and State Curricula? Public Standards, Private Values, and Textbook Content

Anjali Adukia, The University of Chicago and NBER
Emileigh Harrison, University of Texas at Austin

Discussant:
Palaash Bhargava, Max Planck Institute for Research on Collective Good
2:30 pm
Break
3:00 pm

Pilgrims and Crusaders: How Religion Shapes Political Divides in Europe

Tommaso Colussi, Catholic University Milan
Dominic Rohner, University of Lausanne
Andrea Tesei, Queen Mary University of London
Felipe Valencia Caicedo, Brown University

Discussant:
Alessandro Pizzigolotto, University of Copenhagen
3:30 pm

Astrology and Matrimony: Social Reinforcement of Religious Beliefs on Marriage Matching in Vietnam

Edoardo Ciscato, KU Leuven
Quoc-Anh Do, Monash University
Kieu-Trang Nguyen, University of Melbourne

Discussant:
Benjamin Tremblay-Auger, Chapman University
4:00 pm

Sympathy for the Devil

José-Antonio Espín-Sánchez, Yale University

Discussant:
Kurtis S. Gilliat, University of California, San Diego
4:30 pm
Adjourn