This paper studies the impact of Muslim rule on human capital development. Using a unique novel dataset containing yearly data on Muslim presence in the period 711-1492 and literacy rate in 1900 for about 7500 municipalities in Spain, we estimate the local impact of the length of Muslim rule in...

We look at the relationship between religion and innovation at the country level. Innovation is captured by the Global Innovation Index and certain innovation outputs. Religiosity is measured across 141 countries in terms of religious belonging, belief, and intolerance. In addition, we look at...

Is it true that the Catholic reaction to Protestantism—the Counter-Reformation—lead to scientific and economic decline for hundreds of years? Introducing biography-based evidence, I show that Catholic and Protestant European cities long shared comparable trends of scientists per capita. But...

In this paper, ChatGPT, an artificial intelligence (AI) chatbot, was given an assignment to write a two-part essay, the intent of which was to examine both sides of the argument that the black swan theory destroys the atheist argument that there is no God. Atheists believe that there is no God...

To identify effects of science on growth in the long-term, we need a shock to science which is sufficiently persistent. Was the Counter-Reformation—the Catholic reaction to Protestantism—such a shock? Did it harm science, unintentionally but enduringly, and thereby depress economic growth,...

Access to useful knowledge is crucial for fostering modern economic growth. We show, for the first time, that knowledge accumulated and stored in monasteries was useful for innovation. In 1866, anticlerical legislation in Italy led to the suppression of religious orders, the expropriation of...

The evolution during the Anthropocene is analyzed through the interaction between economic and technological development, characterized by the role of fossil fuels and by the progressive dominance of those with a higher energy and density power. The challenge is how to make the rising demand for...

The availability of technology plays a major role in the feasibility and costs of climate policy. Nonetheless, technological change is highly uncertain and capital intensive, requiring risky efforts in research and development of clean energy technologies. In this paper, we introduce a two-track...

Cooling is an important area for which there is a rapidly increasing demand, but it accounts for a sizeable portion of electricity consumption and generates negative environmental externalities. Technological change directed towards environmental sustainability is essential for cooling to play a...