In this paper we review evidence about the development of the Chinese capital markets over a crucial period in world market history, and place that development in the context of world financial markets at the time. Despite fundamental differences between China today and China 100 years ago, it...

In this paper we review evidence about the development of the Chinese capital markets over a crucial period in world market history, and place that development in the context of world financial markets at the time. Despite fundamental differences between China today and China 100 years ago, it...

The Ottoman Empire has been predominantly viewed as the 'Sick Man of Europe.' The question arises, however, how this perceived inefficiency can be reconciled with the long existence and prosperity of the Empire. I argue that the Ottoman system could have been efficient subject to constraints....

We study whether the COVID-19 pandemic has impacted risk preferences, comparing the results of experiments conducted before and during the outbreak. In each experiment, we elicit risk preferences from two sample groups: professional traders and undergraduate students. We find that, on average,...

While intermarriage with non-indigenous people has been identified as a significant predictor of the economic assimilation of Native people, the explanation for this effect is less understood. In this paper, I examine whether the economic assimilation from marrying a Native person with white...

The use of historical data has become a standard tool in economics, serving three main purposes: to examine the influence of the past on current economic outcomes; to use unique natural experiments to test modern economic theories; and to use modern economic theories to refine our understanding...

Social attitudes toward women vary significantly across societies. This chapter reviews recent empirical research on various historical determinants of contemporary differences in gender roles and gender gaps across societies, and how these differences are transmitted from parents to children...

Ogilvie's The European Guilds is a major contribution to economic history and institutional economics. This review essay surveys the main contributions of Guilds, locating it in a long-standing debate over whether craft guilds contributed positively or negatively to economic development in...

The Research Handbook on the History of Corporation and Company Law is a collection of 25 chapters surveying the history of corporation law from ancient times to the present in jurisdictions across the Americas, Europe, and Asia. This Introduction briefly summarizes the chapters, and suggests...

The twentieth century was a period of outstanding economic growth together with an unequal income distribution. This paper analyses the international distribution of growth rates and its dynamics during the twentieth century. We show that the whole century is characterized by a high...