Economic societies emerged during the late eighteenth-century. We argue that these institutions reduced the costs of accessing useful knowledge by adopting, producing, and diffusing new ideas. Combining location information for the universe of 3,300 members across active economic societies in...

We study how NAFTA changed the geography of violence in Mexico. We propose that this open border policy increased trafficking profits of Mexican cartels, resulting in violent competition among them. We test this hypothesis by comparing changes in drug-related homicides after NAFTA's introduction...

We study how NAFTA changed the geography of violence in Mexico. We propose that this open border policy increased trafficking profits of Mexican cartels, resulting in violent competition among them. We test this hypothesis by comparing changes in drug-related homicides after NAFTA's introduction...

In der wirtschaftspolitischen Diskussion sind die schwache öffentliche Investitionstätigkeit und der Zustand der Infrastruktur in Deutschland seit Jahren ein wiederkehrendes Thema (Clemens et al., 2021). Dabei wird der Schuldenbremse eine substanzielle Rolle für den Investitionsstau...

The observance of Ramadan has been widely associated with detrimental health effects as well as poor economic performance. Less attention has been given to the potential benefits generated by the social aspects associated with this religious practice. This column argues that Muslim students...

Sustained technological progress was at the heart of the Industrial Revolution. This column argues that access to knowledge was crucial for innovation and technological diffusion during this period. Inventors and entrepreneurs needed access to useful knowledge to generate new ideas and continue...

How do health crises affect election results? We combine a panel of election results from 1893–1933 with spatial heterogeneity in excess mortality due to the 1918 Influenza to assess the pandemic's effect on voting behavior across German constituencies. Applying a dynamic...

This paper analyzes long-term effects of skilled-worker immigration on productivityfor the Huguenots migration to Prussia. We combine Huguenot immigration lists from1700 with Prussian firm-level data on the value of inputs and outputs in 1802 in aunique data base. In 1685, religious persecution...

Existing evidence, mostly from British textile industries, rejects the importance of formal education for the Industrial Revolution. We provide new evidence from Prussia, a technological follower, where early-19th-century institutional reforms created the conditions to adopt the exogenously...

This paper analyzes the long-term effect of technological diffusion on productivity caused by immigration of skilled workers. In 1685 religious persecution drove highly skilled Huguenots into the backward Brandenburg-Prussia where they established themselves and transferred technological...