As part of the Vilfredo Pareto Research Seminar series, the International Economics Department at the Geneva Graduate Institute is pleased to invite you to a public talk given by Eva Raiber.

She will present her work titled Faith-based Organizations as Platforms.

Abstract: We propose and develop a new model of faith-based organizations as multi-sided platforms. Platforms are intermediaries that create benefits by putting different users in contact with each other, and they typically appropriate as revenues some share of the benefits they create. We argue that faith-based organizations broadly offer two types of services: (I) A religious service that includes providing a moral narrative, giving moral guidance counselling, and providing a space to access the divine (e.g. through prayer, meditation and ritual), and (II) a networking service that allows members to connect with other members that come primarily for the religious service. These connections can be for business, finding a spouse, or sharing risk. By offering both services at the same time, faith-based organizations benefit from the spill-over effect of the religious service which helps to screen for trustworthy network members. They can thus price the services higher than if they were offered separately. The optimal community size depends on the type of network service the organization provides which can explain the co-existence of small and large religious communities with the same price levels.

About the speakeR

Eva Raiber is an Assistant Professor at the Aix-Marseille School of Economics. Her work focuses on empirical microeconomics questions. She studies fertility and educational choices, marital preferences, and individual motivation for religious participation.