This paper tests the cross-sectional income convergence in historical African ethnic homelands proxied by per capita CO2 emissions between 1850 and 2005 using both parametric and non parametric tests of cross-sectional income distribution modality. We report that the cross- sectional income...

We illuminate several important aspects of the nature and causes of growth and institutional change. To do this, we focus on the role resource pressures have played in the historic development of Hawaii’s institutions. We discuss the Hawaiian story in the context of the natural co-evolution of...

The trade of wheat and wool has been one of the economic pillars of the Kingdom of Naples during Modern Age. Since Romans times the production of these commodities – in the continental part of the Kingdom – has been regulated by the trashumance system that coordinated the flow of sheep on...

This paper studies the association between ownership structure and literacy across Spanish districts in the late 19th century. We nd a positive correlation between the ownership rate of the type of livestock mostly used in agriculture (i.e. cattle) and the literacy rate, which is robust to...

The importance of history, culture, and biogeography in shaping current institutions and the long-run process of economic development is the subject of an important and growing field of research, attracting prominent scholars from different backgrounds. This special issue brings together...

This study investigates the extent to which institutional characteristics are related to countries' level of credit depth. The findings suggest that the development of formal property rights, contracting, and competition institutions is positively related to an increase in credit to the private...

This paper investigates both the indirect (i.e. the existence) and the direct effects (i.e. the usage) of direct democracy institutions on major fiscal outcomes across the United States over the 1992-2009 period. Being based on a more recent time span than previous contributions, our work...

This paper analyzes the role of labor market institutions in explaining developments of shadow economies in European countries. We use several alternative measures of the shadow sector to examine the effects of labor market institutions on shadow sector in two specific regions, the old and the...

Transportation spending often plays a prominent role in government efforts to stimulate the economy during downturns. Yet, despite the frequent use of transportation spending as a form of fiscal stimulus, there is little known about its short- or medium-run effectiveness. Does it translate...

Using data on bank credit relationships, the paper shows that after a merger or an acquisition involving two or more banks which had previously jointly financed the same firm, the share of credit granted to the client by the consolidated intermediaries moderately decreases over three years. This...