The Impact of Religion on Household Saving Behavior

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Raiffeisen on Savings:“Many drops form first a Creek...Then a Stream....And finally, a River”Although the relationship between religion and economic development on the macro-level has been explored, it is less clear how background of religiosity influences economic attitudes and financial decision-making on the level of the individual or household in the micro-level. Savings can affect national development; widen the gap between rich and poor nations. Like other saving determinant factors, religion in west Amhara National regional state has had its share towards the impact of saving on households, and yet relatively few research has been carry out to establish the extent to which religion has contributed to the financial decision on households. This study was cross-sectional, that used both the quantitative and qualitative data. It applied a multi-stage cluster sampling of administrative units that were randomly selected. Data was collected using both open ended and closed ended questionnaire, focus group discussions and probit as well as ordinary least square (OLS) models were used for analysis. Using survey data generated from 384 religious sample households, the results of this study shows that 240 (62.5%) of the entire sample of which 162 (67.5%) Orthodox Christian, 74 (30.8%) Muslim and 4 (1.7%) Protestant households had saved during the survey time religious affiliation effects on saving behavior regarding the decision to save money or not, comparing religiosity in the form of Christian to non-Christian believers the results show that Christians are more probable to and save more than non-Christian believers. In addition, Orthodox Christians save more than Muslims.