We examine the effect of county-level religiosity on labor investment decisions. Drawing on the social norm theory, we hypothesize that firms located in religious counties are less likely to engage in inefficient labor investment decisions. Consistent with this prediction, we find that county-level religiosity reduces inefficient labor investment. Using the exogenous shock of the 2002 revelation of the Catholic Church’s sexual abuse scandal, we show a causal relationship between religiosity and inefficient labor investment. We also find that religiosity’s impact on inefficient labor investment diminishes for firms that adopt greater corporate social responsibility (CSR) practices. Our findings suggest that religious beliefs matter in managerial labor investment decisions.

我们研究了县级宗教信仰对劳动力投资决策的影响。借鉴社会规范理论，我们假设位于宗教国家的公司不太可能参与低效的劳动力投资决策。与这一预测一致，我们发现县级宗教信仰减少了低效的劳动力投资。利用 2002 年天主教会性虐待丑闻曝光的外生冲击，我们展示了宗教信仰与低效劳动力投资之间的因果关系。我们还发现，对于采用更大企业社会责任 (CSR) 实践的公司，宗教信仰对低效劳动力投资的影响会减弱。我们的研究结果表明，宗教信仰在管理劳动力投资决策中很重要。