This paper examines the importance of institutional shocks to long-run development. Our empirical method offers a clear empirical test to distinguish between three models of institutional shocks. We define gradual institutional change without a major shock, institutional change imposed by a...

It is well known that protestant and puritan environments historically have fostered entrepreneurs. This paper looks at serial entrepreneurship which took place in Norway in the 19th century in networks led by the puritan leader Hans Nielsen Hauge (1771-1824) and his followers.The paper seeks to...

The present paper looks at the Weber-Tawney thesis on the positive link between Protestant ethic and economic growth. Both scholars observed that Protestant areas in the Western world seemed to gain faster and more wealth than areas with less Protestants, and largely explained this by a special...

This article re-examines the relationship between constitutional monarchy and economic growth in Europe. We suggest that economic growth explains the survival of constitutional monarchy rather than vice versa. The empirical results are consistent with our hypothesis

Firm heterogeneity and the allocation of resources across firms play a key role in determining aggregate productivity. Entry barriers and misallocation can substantially impact productivity, as evidenced in recent work. This article provides a unifying theoretical framework and a review of this...

Following its opening to trade and foreign investment in the mid-1980s, Mexico’s economic growth has been modest at best, particularly in comparison with that of China. Comparing these countries and reviewing the literature, we conclude that the relation between openness and growth is not a...

In general, empirical studies on economics rely on the assumption of constant capital share of income both at the aggregate level and at the sector level. However, there is no empirical evidence supporting the constancy of capital share at the sector level. In this paper, using Colombian data,...

Robert Solow (1958) argued that, from 1929-1954, U.S. aggregate labor's share was not stable relative to what we would expect given individual industry labor's shares. I confirm and extend this result using data from 1958-1996 that includes 35 industries (roughly 2-digit SIC level) and spans the...

In general, empirical studies on economics rely on the assumption of constant capitalshare of income both at the aggregate level and at the sector level. However, there is noempirical evidence supporting the constancy of capital share at the sector level. In thispaper, using Colombian data, we...

Following its opening to trade and foreign investment in the mid-1980s, Mexico's economic growth has been modest at best, particularly in comparison with that of China. Comparing these countries and reviewing the literature, we conclude that the relation between openness and growth is not a...