Chatting at Church: Information Diffusion through Religious Networks
研究了共同参加宗教活动如何促进社交联系，发现共同参加宗教机构使从同伴那里获得建议的可能性提高30个百分点，对理解信息传播和社会资本形成有参考价值。
Abstract This paper shows the causal relationship between mutual religious association and the formation of social ties. We analyze dyadic relationships and show that joint attendance at a religious institution (RI) increases the probability of sharing information with and trusting a peer. We use a novel spatial instrumental variable strategy that combines insights from homestead inheritance institutions with triangular distances between peers and RI locations within villages in Kenya. We find that shared attendance at an RI increases the likelihood of receiving advice from a peer by 30 percentage points, demonstrating the strong impact of weak ties formed through social spaces.