We study the causal effect of country-specific democratic regime change on bilateral trade flows, extending structural gravity empirics to 'heterogeneous gravity' estimated at the country-pair level. Our difference-in-differences implementation accounts for selection into regime change,...

We study the causal effect of country-specific democratic regime change on bilateral trade flows, extending structural gravity empirics to ‘heterogeneous gravity’ estimated at the country-pair level. Our difference-in-differences implementation accounts for selection into regime change,...

We develop and test a theory of efficient international trade. Efficiency gains arise through lower trade costs faced by 'trade specialists', whose superiority over 'common traders' manifests itself through lower trade costs. To test our theory, we construct and deploy a novel dataset based on...

We develop and test a theory of efficient international trade. Efficiency gains arise through lower trade costs faced by 'trade specialists', whose superiority over 'common traders' manifests itself through lower trade costs. To test our theory, we construct and deploy a novel dataset based on...

We develop and test a theory of efficient international trade. Efficiency gains arise through lower trade costs faced by 'trade specialists', whose superiority over 'common traders' manifests itself through lower trade costs. To test our theory, we construct and deploy a novel dataset based on...

We develop and test a theory of efficient international trade. Efficiency gains arise through lower trade costs faced by ‘trade specialists’, whose superiority over ‘common traders’ manifests itself through lower trade costs. To test our theory, we construct and deploy a novel dataset...

In the latter half of the fourth millennium BC, our ancestors witnessed a remarkable transformation, progressing from simple agrarian villages to complex urban civilizations. In regions as far apart as the Nile Valley, Mesopotamia, Central Asia, and the Indus Valley, the first states appeared...