Does democratization reduce the cost of credit? Using global syndicated loan data from 1984 to 2014, we find that democratization has a sizeable negative effect on loan spreads: a one-point increase in the zero-to-ten Polity IV index of democracy shaves at least 19 basis points off spreads, but...

We investigate the linkages between religious life and financial decisions using detailed survey data from a sample of Dutch households. Controlling for a large number of demographic characteristics and background factors, we show that adherents to the Protestant and, at a lesser extent,...