We provide simple tests for selection on unobserved variables in the Vytlacil-Imbens-Angrist framework for Local Average Treatment Effects. The tests allow researchers not only to test for selection on either or both of the treated and untreated outcomes, but also to assess the magnitude of the...

We consider the effects of student ability, college quality, and the interaction between the two on academic outcomes and future earnings using data on two cohorts of college enrollees drawn from the NLSY-79 and the NLSY-97. We find that student sorting has increased modestly between cohorts,...

In what sense are institutions a deep determinant of growth? In this paper, we address this question by examining the relationship between city growth and institutional reform in 19th century Germany, when some cities experienced deep institutional reform as a result of French rule. Employing an...

Workers acquire skills through formal schooling, through training provided by governments, and through training provided by firms. This chapter reviews, synthesizes, and augments the literature on the last of these, which has languished in recent years despite the sizable contribution of firm...

Can a major shock in childhood permanently shape trust? We consider a hunger episode in Germany after WWII and construct a measure of hunger exposure from official data on caloric rations set monthly by the occupying forces providing regional and temporal variation. We correlate hunger exposure...

Based on a sample of elderly individuals from the Survey of Health, Ageing, and Retirement in Europe, we investigate the relationship between job and marital stability over the life cycle. We argue that an unobserved, time-varying social skill affects stability in both markets. Using a grouped...