This paper examines the effect of broadband Internet on household stock market participation. By exploiting the expansion of broadband in the U.S. from 1999 to 2008, we find that the availability of broadband in a household’s zip code significantly increases the likelihood of stockholding and...

Culture affects human behavior in subtle but profound ways. This paper investigates the effects of individualism, one of the most salient cultural dimensions, on household financial inclusion. We first conduct a cross-country analysis and then use an epidemiological approach, involving...

This paper explores the effect of country-level religiosity on corruption in bank lending at the firm level. Using data from the World Business Environment Survey, we find strong and robust evidence that firms in more religious countries perceive a higher level of corruption in bank lending than...

We examine the impact of the African slave trade between 1400 and 1900 on corporate tax evasion in modern Africa. Using a large sample of firms from 26 African countries, we document that firms are more likely to evade taxes in countries that suffered a higher level of historical slave...