For most of the postwar period, Europe's capital markets remained largely closed to international capital flows. This paper explores the costs of this policy. Using the familiar event-study methodology, we examine the extent to which restrictions of current and capital account convertibility...

Can infrastructure investment win “hearts and minds”? We analyze a famous case – the building of the highway network in Nazi Germany. Construction began shortly after Hitler’s takeover of the government, and was one of the regime’s most important projects. We collect new data on...

Efforts at fiscal consolidation are often limited because of concerns over potential social unrest. From German austerity measures during the 1930s to the violent demonstrations in Greece in 2010, hard times have tended to go hand in hand with antigovernment violence. In this paper, I assemble...