In elections that take place in a less-than-perfect democracy, incumbency advantages are different from those in mature democracies. The incumbent can prevent credible challengers from running, organize vote fraud, or even physically eliminate the main opponents. At the same time, formally...

Regimes controlled by a rich elite often collapse and make way for democracy amidst widespread social unrest. Such regime changes are often followed by redistribution to the poor at the expense of the former elite. We argue that the reason why the elite may have to resort to full-scale...

This paper gives a historical dimension to the impact of trade unions on earnings by estimating the union wage effect in Britain between 1889-90 using data from the US Commissioner of Labour survey conducted at that time. The determinants of union status are also investigated in terms of profit...

The late 19th century, and more precisely the period between the Irish Famine of 1845-49 and the First World War, was an era of largely free migration. As such, it constitutes a unique policy experiment, in which migration flows reflected underlying economic forces, rather than government...

Many papers have explored the relationship between average tariff rates and economic growth, when theory suggests that the structure of protection is what should matter. We therefore explore the relationship between economic growth and agricultural tariffs, industrial tariffs, and revenue...

This Paper provides a summary of what is known about trends in international commodity market integration during the second half of the second millennium. The range of goods that have been traded between continents since the Voyages of Discovery has steadily increased over time, and there has...

We investigate the long-run consequences of historic, climatic temperatures (1730-2000) for the modern cross-country income distribution. Using a newly constructed dataset of climatic temperatures stretching over three centuries (18th, 19th, and 20th), we estimate a robust and significant...