. Exploiting within-country variation to identify the effect of democratization during the 'Third Wave', we find evidence that the … effect of democratization is weaker than reported previously once one accounts for the incidence of conflict, while the … significantly reduce the incidence and onset of conflict, which suggests that part of the positive growth effect of democratization …

We study the role of trade liberalization, democratization and their interaction for technology adoption. A general … accelerate technology adoption if coupled with democratization but may lead to a slow down if these regime changes are imbalanced … variation and the heterogenous timing of openness and democratization. The results document the existence of robust positive …

In the centuries leading up to the Industrial Revolution, Western Europe gradually pulled ahead of other world regions … explain the rise of Europe relative to regions that relied on the transmission of knowledge within extended families or clans …

. Finally, observing that individuals in the South of Europe appear to accumulate more local social capital, while in Northern … Europe they tend to invest in more general types of social capital, we argue that part of the European unemployment puzzle …