Previous studies on the value of terroir, or more generally geographical indications (GI), used hedonic techniques. We use historical data and exploit temporal and geographical variations in the introduction of wine GIs in early twentieth century France to study the impact on the price of...

The multiple crises observed in the European Union over the past decade have undermined trust and the foundations for cohesion in Europe. In the absence of a common government, confederations without strong common independent institutions are fragile and prone to collapse. Some of the observed...

During the second half of the eighteenth century, the Ottoman policy-makers adopted a more liberal attitude towards price formation. This was accompanied by the fiscal and administrative centralization of the grain trade. These seemingly contradictory policy changes could, in part, be explained...

This paper emphasizes that the evolution of religious institutions in Europe was influenced by the expansionary threat posed by the Ottoman Empire five centuries ago. This threat intensified in the second half of the 15th century and peaked in the first half of the 16th century with the Ottoman...

Government had an enormous impact on economic growth and development in pre-industrial Europe. Mostly, this was unintended - a side effect, for example, of government exaction or of the waging of war. However, governments did also intervene in their economies deliberately. These interventions...

In pre-industrial Europe, the pace of economic development and growth varied across territories and over time. Much of this variation was due to the changing impact of government on the economies in question. Government affected the economy principally through its command of violence. We...

In pre-industrial Europe the technology of war advanced at an unusually rapid pace. The period's almost incessant warfare ensured a strong demand for improvements in the technology of war. At the same time, rapid economic development created an environment that was conducive to the supply of...

We use over 250 years of conflict and market integration data to provide the first quantitative evidence that Atlantic trade contributed to Europe's pacification between 1640 and 1896. While the decline in conflict in Europe during this period has been well documented, the role of Atlantic trade...