Religion and Terrorism: Evidence from Ramadan Fasting
Type
conference speech
Date Issued
2020-01-04
Author(s)
Paul, Raschky
;
Roland, Holder
;
Anthony, Strittmatter
Abstract (De)
We study the effect of religion and intense religious experiences on terrorism by focusing on one of the five pillars of Islam: Ramadan fasting. For identification, we exploit two facts: First, daily fasting from dawn to sunset during Ramadan is considered mandatory for most Muslims. Second, the Islamic calendar is not synchronized with the solar cycle. We find a robust negative effect of more intense Ramadan fasting on terrorist events within districts and country-years in predominantly Muslim countries. This effect seems to operate partly through decreases in public support for terrorism and the operational capabilities of terrorist groups.
Language
English
HSG Classification
contribution to scientific community
HSG Profile Area
SEPS - Quantitative Economic Methods
Event Title
ASSA/AEA
Event Location
San Diego
Subject(s)
Eprints ID
259138