A practitioner of the nascent discipline the economics of religion, Lehrer (economics, U. of Illinois-Chicago) compiles 10 articles he has written over the past 15 years investigating the role that religion plays in various dimensions of the economic and demographic behavior of American individuals and families. Among the topics are religion as a determinant of marital stability, the effect of religion on the labor supply of married women, patterns of religion and high school graduation among white and black young women, and an economic perspective on the role of religion in union formation. Annotation ©2009 Book News, Inc., Portland, OR (booknews.com)

List of figures p. xv List of tables p. xvi Foreword p. xix Acknowledgments p. xxi Introduction p. 1 Part I The role of religion in marriage and divorce p. 9 1 Religion as a determinant of marital stability p. 11 2 Religious intermarriage in the United States: determinants and trends p. 33 Part II The role of religion in female labor supply and fertility p. 53 3 The effects of religion on the labor supply of married women p. 55 4 Religion as a determinant of marital fertility p. 79 Part III The role of religion in education and well-being p. 105 5 The benefits from marriage and religion in the United States: a comparative analysis p. 107 6 Religion as a determinant of educational attainment: an economic perspective p. 128 7 Religion and high school graduation: a comparative analysis of patterns for white and black young women p. 154 Part IV A revised analytical framework, conclusions, and directions for future research p. 173 8 The role of religion in union formation: an economic perspective p. 175 9 Religion as a determinant of economic and demographic behavior in the United States p. 198 10 Recent developments in the field and an agenda for future research p. 218 Author index p. 231 Subject index p. 233