Thomas Piketty’s Capital in the Twenty-First Century is the most widely discussed work of economics in recent history, selling millions of copies in dozens of languages. But are its analyses of inequality and economic growth on target? Where should researchers go from here in exploring the...

The Protestant Reformation is a vivid example of how religious transformation could set in motion institutional changes, leading to profound consequences for economic and political development. Although economists and other social scientists agree that there is a strong relation between the...

Individuals and organizations if rational and self-interested will equalize the marginal returns of two ways of generating income: (1) production and exchange, versus (2) appropriative efforts for capturing resources previously controlled by other parties (or to defend against appropriation by...