On one’s own two feet: self-employment, poverty, and the importance of religion in South Africa
利用南非面板数据，研究发现自雇者更可能降低宗教重要性，且贫困加剧了这一效应，挑战了制度空白下宗教依赖的传统观点。
Using institutional voids theory, we examine whether self-employment is associated with lower religious importance. Using individual fixed-effects analysis of individuals from South Africa’s National Income Dynamics Study (2008–2017), we find self-employed individuals are significantly less likely to consider religion important in the subsequent wave, particularly among poor households. Results remain robust across multiple specifications. Our results show that among the self-employed, poverty amplifies religious disengagement rather than dependence in institutional voids contexts.