More than 50 years after independence, the majority of countries in Sub-Saharan Africa remain poor with limited rates of economic growth. One of the most striking features of economic development on the sub-Saharan subcontinent is the remarkably poor performance of French colonies relative to...

'Sweden has a remarkable political culture that marries market liberalism and social democratic sensibilities. Bergh's fine book helps us get beyond a sense of paradox in that.' (Daniel Klein, George Mason University, US). -- For some, Sweden is proof that a generous welfare state is fully...

Recent micro-level studies have suggested that globalization - in particular, economic globalization - breeds political polarization and populism. This study examines if those results generalize by examining the country-level association between vote shares for European populist parties and...

This paper examines the link between economic globalisation, social protection expenditure, and within-country income inequality. We examine the relationship using income inequality data from both the Luxembourg Income Study (LIS) and the Standardized World Income Inequality Database (SWIID)....

Establishing causal relationships is a core aspect of empirical economics. Borrowing ideas from the medical sciences, we propose tentative guidelines for reliable causal inferences that cover aspects related to both the study itself and its fit with the existing background knowledge. Moreover,...

Populist parties have grown rapidly in popularity in most European countries, and are increasingly common in government coalitions. Analyzing 183 populist parties in 33 European countries from 1980 to 2021, we estimate the average effect of being in government on election results. On average, we...

Social trust is typically measured using surveys that ask people if they agree that most people can be trusted. A potential problem is that falling response rates plague these surveys. If nonresponses are systematic, comparisons of social trust over time will be biased. We examine social and...