Todd P. Steen, Steve VanderVeen and Julie Voskuil
The purpose of this paper is to explore a Christian perspective on the field of finance.
Abstract
Purpose
The purpose of this paper is to explore a Christian perspective on the field of finance.
Design/methodology/approach
This paper begins by examining the theoretical underpinnings of finance and how finance is practiced today. The paper then considers the implications of a reformed Christian worldview for finance, with special attention to the implications of the Biblical description of heaven for the practice of finance. The paper concludes by offering suggestions for the practice of finance.
Findings
Finance as it practiced today is overly concerned with short‐term considerations, shareholder interests over those of other stakeholders, and contractual relationships over other types of relationships. A model based on the Christian Scriptures that utilizes the themes of creation, fall, redemption, and consummation can be used to critique both the theory and practice of finance. This model suggests that finance is part of God’s intended structure for the world, and that it should contribute to the promotion of shalom, that is the universal flourishing of both humankind and the earth.
Practical implications
An examination of the Christian Scriptures provides a model for the practice of corporate finance. The authors assert that finance should be covenantal, long‐term oriented, inclusive, and stakeholder‐driven, and that it should promote the cause of justice.
Originality/value
The value of this paper is that it develops a Christian perspective on finance based on the reformed tradition of Christianity; it also offers suggestions for the practice of finance.
Details
Keywords
This study examines the effect of a Medicaid disenrollment on employment, sources of health insurance coverage, and health and health care utilization of childless adults using…
Abstract
This study examines the effect of a Medicaid disenrollment on employment, sources of health insurance coverage, and health and health care utilization of childless adults using longitudinal data from the 2004 Panel of the Survey of Income and Program Participation. From July to September 2005, TennCare, the Tennessee Medicaid program, disenrolled approximately 170,000 adults following a change in eligibility rules. Following this eligibility change, the fraction of adults in Tennessee covered by Medicaid fell by over 5 percentage points while uninsured rates increased by almost 5 percentage points relative to adults in other Southern states. There is no evidence of an increase in employment rates in Tennessee following the disenrollment. Self-reported health and access to medical care worsened as hospitalization rates, doctor visits, and dentist visits all declined while the use of free or public clinics increased. The Tennessee experience suggests that undoing the expansion of Medicaid eligibility to adults that occurred under the Affordable Care Act likely would reduce health insurance coverage, reduce health care access, and worsen health but would not lead to increases in employment.