Description: Religion is not a popular target for economic analysis. Yet the economist's tools offer insights into how religious groups compete, deliver social services, and reach out to converts--how religions nurture and deploy market power. Sriya Iyer puts these tools to use in an expansive study of India, one of the world's most religiously diverse nations.
Brief description: Sriya Iyer is Bibby Fellow and College Lecturer at St Catharine's College and Affiliated Lecturer and Janeway Fellow in Economics in the Faculty of Economics at the University of Cambridge. She is the author of Demography and Religion in India.
Review Quotes: Reminds us of old truths--for example, that religion is a cultural expression of deep emotional and imaginative hunger (what Iyer calls 'spiritual')--while arguing that it is often 'a rational economic response' to changing social environments. In so doing, Iyer gently but effectively challenges more narrow concepts of rational choice.--Terri Apter "Times Literary Supplement" (11/20/2018 12:00:00 AM)