We analyse the effect of strong and weak ties on the individual probability of finding a job. Using the dynamic model of Calvó-Armengol and Jackson (2004), two results are put forward: (i) the individual probability of finding a job is increasing in the number of strong and weak ties; (ii) the...

Die Medien, die Öffentlichkeit und die Politik gehen seit vielen Jahren von einer demografischen Entwicklung aus, die für Deutschland nichts Gutes verheißt. Die Alterung der Bevölkerung bedroht die sozialen Sicherungssysteme, führt zu Fachkräftemangel und zu verdorrten Landschaften - so...

This paper provides new evidence on the effect of school construction projects on home prices, academic achievement, and public school enrollment. Taking advantage of the staggered implementation of a comprehensive school construction project in a poor urban district, we find that, by six years...

This paper examines the effects of a generous, spatially-targeted economic development policy (the federal Empowerment Zone program) on local neighborhood characteristics and on the neighborhood quality of life, taking into account the interactions amongst the policy, changes in neighborhood...

We explore the relation between historical population density in former colonies and modern income distribution. A theoretical model highlights the potentially opposing effects of native population density on incentives for colonists to conquer or settle in new territories. While an abundant...

This research contributes to the understanding of human genetic diversity within a society as a significant determinant of its economic development. The hypothesis advanced and empirically examined in this paper suggests that there are socioeconomic trade-offs associated with genetic diversity...

I focus on the independent role of social innovation in economic progress. Modern theory of economic growth and development emphasizes endowments, power, incentives, and physical technology, paying scant attention to knowledge of social systems as a scarce resource. I reverse these procedures by...

Past estimates of the effect of family income on child development have often been plagued by endogeneity and measurement error. In this paper, we use an instrumental variables strategy to estimate the causal effect of income on children's math and reading achievement. Our identification derives...

Using data from the German Socio-Economic Panel, this study examines the relationship between immigrant residential segregation and immigrants' satisfaction with the neighborhood. The estimates show that immigrants living in segregated areas are less satisfied with the neighborhood. This is...