DP16620 Religious practice and student performance: Evidence from Ramadan fasting
Author(s): | Erik Hornung, Guido Schwerdt, Maurizio Strazzeri |
Publication Date: | October 2021 |
Keyword(s): | Education, PISA, Ramadan, religion, Religious Participation, social capital, social identity, TIMMS |
JEL(s): | I21, J24, O15, Z12 |
Programme Areas: | Labour Economics |
Link to this Page: | cepr.org/active/publications/discussion_papers/dp.php?dpno=16620 |
We investigate how the intensity of Ramadan affects educational outcomes by exploiting spatio-temporal variation in annual fasting hours. Longer fasting hours are related to increases in student performance in a panel of TIMMS test scores (1995-2019) across Muslim countries but not other countries. Results are confirmed in a panel of PISA test scores (2003-2018) allowing within country-wave comparisons of Muslim to non-Muslim students across Europe. We provide evidence consistent with the hypothesis that a demanding Ramadan during adolescence affects educational performance by facilitating formation of social capital and social identity via increased religious participation and shared experiences among students.