This paper studies the persistent effects of China’s Great Wall, built in the Ming Dynasty (1368-1644), on contemporary regional ethnic diversity and economic development. Using rich township-level and individual-level data combined with spatial regression discontinuity strategy, we find that...

At the individual level, we test the adjustment of the female age at marriage (FAM) to the economic conditions that the supporters of the “European Marriage Pattern” assume. For a typical French village, we collect exhaustive data on families and marriage contracts as well as accurate...

This paper scrutinizes the recently postulated link between the European Marriage Pattern (EMP) and economic success. A metastudy of the historical demography literature shows that the EMP did not prevail throughout Europe, its three key components did not always coincide, and its more extreme...

This paper scrutinizes the recently postulated link between the European Marriage Pattern (EMP) and economic success. A metastudy of the historical demography literature shows that the EMP did not prevail throughout Europe, its three key components did not always coincide, and its more extreme...

Though many theories have been advanced to account for global differences in economic prosperity, little attention has been paid to the oldest and most fundamental of human institutions: kin-based institutions---the set of social norms governing descent, marriage, clan membership, post-marital...

Generalized morality reflects ethical norms in society about the inappropriateness of behaviors that can cause harm to others. Generalized morality may be an important factor affecting the economic performance of countries. An indicator of generalized morality is constructed from data from the...

Generalized morality reflects ethical norms in society about the inappropriateness of behaviors that can cause harm to others. Generalized morality may be an important factor affecting the economic performance of countries. A measure of generalized morality is constructed from data from the...

For several centuries, women's age at first marriage in Western Europe was higher than in the east (and in the rest of the world). Over the same period Western Europe began slow but sustained economic development relative to elsewhere. A model based on the economics of the household explains...

Following Fukuyama's (2001) postulation for future research in economic development, this paper examines the cultural hypothesis regarding national economic prosperity. Culture is found to affect economic performance through two channels; cultural traits that stimulate individual motivation, and...

A large body of research has found that there is a statistically significant, positive link between country-level IQ and various measures of economic activity, such as GDP growth. This study extends that analysis by estimating the relationship between IQ and welfare growth. Using Jones and...