Witchcraft beliefs and the erosion of social capital: Evidence from Sub-Saharan Africa and Beyond

Journal of Development Economics Vol/Iss. 120 Elsevier Amsterdam Published In Pages: 182-208
By Gershman, Boris

Hypothesis

Regional witchcraft beliefs will be significantly associated with trust in various other types of people/authorities

Note

Of the 10 types of people/authorities, six were significantly correlated with regional witchcraft beliefs and all of the relationships were negative. These people/authorities are relatives, neighbors, others, police, courts, and local councils.

Test

Test NameSupportSignificanceCoefficientTail
OLSSupport for 6 of 10 variables - see note for directionp<0.1Multiple r valuesUNKNOWN

Variables

Variable NameVariable Type OCM Term(s)
TrustDependent variableDrives And Emotions
Witchcraft BeliefIndependent variableSorcery