This paper investigates how kinship and professional networks shaped labour market outcomes in early modern Genoa. Using a newly constructed dataset of over 8,000 apprenticeship contracts (1450-1530), I examine the extent to which kinship ties with masters or guild members influenced both entry...

The share of female inventors remains significantly lower than that of men in both developed and developing countries. This paper studies gender bias in patenting activity, using a unique dataset that matches Italian administrative employer-employee records both to patent data from the European...

Using Chinese A-share listed firms from 2003 to 2021, we investigate the impact of merchant guild culture (MGC) on corporate cash holdings. Our results show that firms with stronger MGC influence exhibit lower levels of cash reserves. Cross-sectional analysis reveals that this effect is weaker...