Outbreaks of infectious diseases bring behavior and policy responses into sharp focus since societies face acute constraints and uncertainties. This paper compares two infectious disease outbreaks: the Covid-19 pandemic and the 1665 London plague outbreak described by Daniel Defoe in A Journal...

This paper argues that the availability of arable land in antiquity created gender norms that continue to affect current gender inequality. We show that countries with greater ancestral arable land have lower levels of gender inequality, better female reproductive health outcomes, and greater...

In this paper, I assess the impact of financial reforms on corruption using a panel of 85 countries for 1984-2005. I find that several, but not all, of the policies targeted towards financial liberalization reduce corruption. Specifically, the abolition of entry barriers, credit controls, and...