This paper studies the historical roots of vaccine hesitancy in the context of Germany. Using digitized data on the existence of naturopathic associations in Germany in the year 1900, we first show that counties with a large number of naturopathic associations in 1900 were disproportionally...

This paper documents a language change in printing from Latin to the vernaculars, the spoken tongues, in the immediate aftermath of the Protestant Reformation of 1517. As a result, the share of vernacular titles in Europe rose from around 30% in 1500 to almost 60% in 1600. With the increased use...

While social relationships play an important role for individuals to cope with missing market institutions, they also limit individuals' range of trading partners. This paper aims at understanding the determinants of trust at various social distances when information asymmetries are present....

While social relationships play an important role for individuals to cope with missing market institutions, they also limit individuals' range of trading partners. This paper aims at understanding the determinants of trust at various social distances when information asymmetries are present....

We examine in this paper the transition from school to work and the transition to marriage among young men with at least a secondary education in Egypt, with particular attention to how the first transition affects the second. In examining the transition from school to work, we analyze the...

Syrien steht mitten in einem wirtschaftlichen Reformprozess. Dieser ist notwendig, da die Ölreserven zur Neige gehen, wodurch die Leistungsbilanz stark negativ geworden ist. Gleichzeitig ist die Unterbeschäftigung hoch und das Pro-Kopf-Einkommen stagniert. Subventionen und Zahl der...

Deutschland übernimmt zum 1. Januar 2007 für sechs Monate die EU-Ratspräsidentschaft und zugleich für ein Jahr den Vorsitz in der Gruppe der G-8 Staaten. Gerade durch das zeitliche Zusammenfallen beider Aufgaben kann Deutschland einen Beitrag zur richtungsweisenden Gestaltung der...

This paper examines the economic origins of the Islamic revival that took place in Egypt in the 1970-80s, and in Muslim societies more generally. We provide the first systematic evidence of a decline in social mobility among educated youth in Egypt. Developing a behavioral model of religion, we...

While strong social ties help individuals cope with missing institutions, trade is essentially limited to those who are part of the social network. We examine what makes the decision to trust a stranger different from the decision to trust a member of a given social network (a friend), by...