Does social capital always promote solidarity and democracy, or are social networks such as sports clubs also vulnerable to populism? We exploit quasi-experimental variation in sports club membership in German cities. Sports clubs are booming in cities with successful soccer teams which pass the...

Can public infrastructure help regions to mitigate large shocks? We examine how hospital infrastructure contributes to regional resilience in the event of serious health emergencies. During the 1918 Spanish flu pandemic, four out of every 1,000 Germans died. We find lower influenza mortality...