This paper explores, both formally and empirically, the political accountability mechanisms that lie behind the varying levels of public corruption and of effective governance taking place across nations. The first section develops a principal-agent model in which good governance is a function...

We reassess the literature of growth by looking at the evolution of the European economy from around 1200 to 1900. Employing a comprehensive dataset for the European continent that includes geographic and climate features (1200-1800), urbanization data (1200-1800), per capita income data in the...

How well any government functions simply hinges on how good citizens are at making their politicians accountable for their actions. The political control of public officials depends on two factors. First, free and regular elections allow citizens to discipline politicians - the credible threat...

After reviewing the current literature on the causes of economic inequality, the article models the historical emergence of inequality as the result of a key technological change (i.e., the adoption of agriculture) that widened income differentials and led to the construction of state...

This paper explores, both formally and empirically, the political accountability mechanisms that lie behind the varying levels of public corruption and of effective governance taking place across nations. The first section develops a principal-agent model in which good governance is a function...