Religion can influence economic growth and economic growth can influence religiosity (Barro & Mitchell, 2004; Barro & McCleary, 2003; McCleary, 2007). Earlier, Weber (1904, 1930, 1958) had suggested that the protestant work ethic gave rise to capitalism and that other major world religions including Catholicism, Judaism, Islam, Hinduism, Buddhism, Confucianism, and Daoism were not conducive to capitalism. However, the data on predicted growth rates and the current majority religion for the 24 emerging economies (Yeyati & Williams, 2012; IMF WEO, 2010) suggest these emerging economies with high growth rates include a variety of geo-political regions representing many different religions, national cultures, and even “no-religion” affiliation. For the same majority religion, the economic growth rates and Hofstede’s (1980) national culture dimensions vary among nations. Thus, religion alone is not sufficient to explain the higher economic growth of the emerging economies. The economic growth is influenced by additional social, political, and macroeconomic variables including human capital, infrastructure, technological progress, political stability, capital formation, domestic credit to private sector, foreign domestic investment, inflation rate, exchange rate, and international trade. In a secular sense, the religious beliefs and cultural values related to work and social ethic are conducive to economic growth through entrepreneurship and organizational effectiveness.
High-Growth Entrepreneurs, Public Policies, and Economic Growth
