We conducted a multi-country experiment on whether a reminder of the Islamic prohibition on interest induces lenders to choose Profit-Loss Sharing arrangements (PLS) as an alternative. We find that 1) Muslims are more likely to choose PLS than non-Muslims; 2) they do so when interest rates are...

In June 2013, the High-Level Conference of Middle-Income Countries held in Costa Rica, organised by the United Nations Industrial Development Organization (UNIDO), ventured an intriguing look into the future of development. In particular, the conference highlighted the role of networks in...

The economic expansion witnessed in the last 0,08% of modern human history is an anomalous event. It has been compared to a "rocket ship that took off five seconds ago, and nobody knows where it's going." This paper explores the destiny of this rocket ship. It shows that economic growth cannot...

The Degrowth Movement calls for "degrowth" - a reduction in GDP in advanced economies - to avert an ecological crisis. This paper argues that the Degrowth Movement misses that the West is already in a state resembling degrowth - a Great Stagnation. This state of degrowth and its correlates,...

The demographic history of the Jews in the Middle Ages may be characterized by two main phenomena: i) a sharp drop in the number of Jews until the beginning of the modern period, due mainly to conversions; and, ii) early urbanization. Until now, these features have been analyzed as primarily...

The demographic history of the Jews in the Middle Ages may be characterized by two main phenomena: i) a sharp drop in the number of Jews until the beginning of the modern period, due mainly to conversions; and, ii) early urbanization. Until now, these features have been analyzed as primarily...

Evidence of gender differences in cooperation in social dilemmas is inconclusive. This paper experimentally elicits unconditional contributions, a contribution vector (cooperative preferences), and beliefs about the level of others' contributions in variants of the public goods game. We show...

Concerns about offspring's life quality are often cited as a motivation for caring about climate change. This paper investigates the hypothesized causal effect of grandparenthood on climate change worries, using panel data surveys among British families. Specifically, we study whether becoming a...

In a strong sense, corruption is an epidemic that coexists with anthropogenic moral structure and behavior. However, the impacts of institutional corruption can lead to distortions in business cycles and drastic damages to a country's collective economic and social performance. In this essay, we...