What a ects the economic and cultural development tracks of societies? We know that large events such as political changes, natural disasters and migration can change a society dramatically at the macro level, but what exactly happens at the individual level? When conditions change, people are...

This dissertation was prepared by Jasmin Gröschl and is a collection of five self-contained empirical essays. They aim at contributing to the understanding of non-standard determinants of trade and migration: historical and cultural characteristics in the United States (Chapter 1),...