This paper develops the empirical and theoretical case that differences in economic institutions are the fundamental … cause of differences in economic development. We first document the empirical importance of institutions by focusing on two … “quasi-natural experiments” in history, the division of Korea into two parts with very different economic institutions and …

In this paper we revisit the relationship between institutions, human capital and development. We argue that empirical … models that treat institutions and human capital as exogenous are misspecified both because of the usual omitted variable … focus on historically-determined differences in human capital and control for the effect of institutions, the impact of …

In this article, we revisit the relationship among institutions, human capital, and development. We argue that … empirical models that treat institutions and human capital as exogenous are misspecified, both because of the usual omitted … focus on historically determined differences in human capital and control for the effect of institutions, the impact of …