Using a newly assembled dataset spanning from 1820 to 1998, we study the relationship between the occurrence and magnitude of episodes of mass killing and the levels of development and democracy across countries and over time. Mass killings appear to be more likely at intermediate levels of...

Although it is widely accepted that financial development is associated with higher growth, the evidence on the channels through which credit affects growth at the microeconomic level is scant. Using data from a cross section of Bulgarian firms, we estimate the impact of access to credit, as...

In the last century most countries have experienced both an increase in pension spending and a decline in fertility. We argue that the interplay of pension generosity and development of capital markets is crucial to understand fertility decisions. Since children have traditionally represented...

We use firm-level, cross-county data from Investment Climate surveys in 49 developing countries to investigate an important channel through which informality can affect productivity: access to credit and external finance. Informality is measured as self-reported lack of tax compliance in a...

We develop a simple bargaining framework of corruption where firms pay bribes to avoid regulation. Consistent with this setup, we find that time spent bargaining with bureaucrats and amount of bribe payments are positively correlated, but that this association is weaker (and, thus, corruption...

Though there is a large literature on the determinants of child labour and many initiatives aimed at combating this phenomenon, there is limited evidence on the consequences of child labour for socioeconomic outcomes such as education, occupational choice, wages, and health. Using panel data...

This paper examines the relationship between household income shocks and child labour. In particular, we investigate the extent to which transitory income shocks lead to increases in child labour and whether household access to credit mitigates the effects of these shocks. Using data from a...