We revisit and critically reevaluate the widely accepted modernization hypothesis which claims that per capita income causes the creation and the consolidation of democracy. Existing studies find support for this hypothesis because they fail to control for the presence of omitted variables....

Many developing countries have suffered under the personal rule of “kleptocrats”, who implement highly inefficient economic policies, expropriate the wealth of their citizens, and use the proceeds for their own glorification or consumption. We argue that the success of kleptocrats rests, in...

We develop a theory of macroeconomic development based on the novel concept of savings multiplier: capital accumulation changes relative prices and income shares between generations, creating further incentives to accumulate and thereby rising saving rates as the economy develops. The savings...

Economics

Economics

Economics

The basic machines of macroeconomics. Ramsey, Solow, Samuelson-Diamond, RBCs, ISLM, Mundell-Fleming, Fischer-Taylor. How they work, what shortcuts they take, and how they can be used. Half-term subject. From the course home page: Course Description This half semester class presents an...

We study a dynamic general equilibrium model where innovation takes the form of the introduction of new goods whose production requires skilled workers. Innovation is followed by a costly process of standardization, whereby these new goods are adapted to be produced using unskilled labor. Our...

The majority of labor transactions throughout much of history and a significant fraction of such transactions in many developing countries today are “coercive,” in the sense that force or the threat of force plays a central role in convincing workers to accept employment or its terms. We...

This paper introduces endogenous and directed technical change in a growth model with environmentalconstraints. A unique final good is produced by combining inputs from two sectors. Oneof these sectors uses “dirty” machines and thus creates environmental degradation. Research canbe directed...