This paper shows that Tabellini's recent claim to have provided evidence that culture has a causal effect on economic development is unjustified. Tabellini's claim is based on an instrumental variables analysis in which two instruments are used to identify the supposed causal effect. One of...

Does culture have a causal effect on economic development? The data on European regions suggest that it does. Culture is measured by indicators of individual values and beliefs, such as trust and respect for others, and confidence in individual self-determination. To isolate the exogenous...

The importance of investment in early childhood education (ECE) has been widely documented in the literature. Among the benefits, particularly for children from disadvantaged backgrounds, is its potential to mitigate educational inequality. However, some evidence also suggests that the positive...

This book explores the reasons behind Europe’s poor performance in terms of overall growth and its progressively diminishing role in the global context. Recognizing that the big challenge is to restore confidence and hope in Europe, potential solutions are discussed. The volume comprises a...

How much does your neighbor impact your test scores and career? In this paper, we examine how an observable characteristic of same-age neighbors-their gender-affects a variety of high school and university outcomes. We exploit randomness in the gender composition of local cohorts at birth from...

This paper examines the responses of private consumption, residential investment, and business investment in 11 EU countries, Japan, and the United States to shocks in housing and equity prices. The effects are assessed with a Structural Vector Auto Regressive (SVAR) model, and four key findings...