Location:
The Heritage Foundation's Lehrman Auditorium
One of the longest and most important debates in public policy
swirls around the question: Why do some countries have rapidly
growing economies and others do not? Much of the new economic
research attempts to explain these differences in growth rates as
stemming from differences in institutional and cultural factors. A
new line of work concentrates on the role of religious belief and
religious institutions in the relative success of economies. What's
more important, believing or belonging? Are economies filled with
people pondering their eternal state more or less likely to succeed
economically, or does organized religion hold the key to economic
growth?
Few researchers have had as much success in explaining the role of
institutions and values to economic growth as has Professor Robert
Barro. From his regular Wall Street Journal columns to his
extensive academic research, he has connected institutional,
cultural, and economic factors to explain differences in growth
rates.
Please join us as Professor Barro explores the relationship
between religion and economic growth at this public lecture
sponsored by The Heritage Foundation's Center for Religion and
Civil Society.
More About the Speakers
Robert Barro
Robert C. Waggoner Professor of Economics, Harvard University