How does religious belief promote farmer entrepreneurship in rural China?

We investigate whether and if so, how religious belief promotes farmer entrepreneurship in rural China. We find a significant and positive relationship between religious belief and farmer entrepreneurship. Our results show that a family member’s religious belief, especially a male member’s religious belief, spills over to the family’s engagement in farmer entrepreneurship. In addition, the religion effect is more pronounced in eastern China, where conditions for developing entrepreneurship are more favourable. We demonstrate that compared with Western religions, Eastern religions have a stronger influence on farmer entrepreneurship in China. Our results have important implications for policymakers in other developing economies who seek to achieve sustainable rural economic development.