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on Business, Economic and Financial History |
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Issue of 2024‒04‒29
twenty-one papers chosen by |
| By: | Heikkuri, Suvi (Unit for Economic History, School of Business, Economics and Law, Göteborg University) |
| Abstract: | This paper documents the evolution of wage differentials between skilled and unskilled workers in Sweden throughout the first half of the twentieth century. Using newly digitized data on income taxes, this paper demonstrates that the skill premium decreased throughout 1900–1950, and most rapidly from 1930 onward. This is similar to the fall in skill premium documented by Goldin and Katz for the United States. However, unlike in the United States, the fall in skill premia in Sweden cannot be attributed to a supply shock of high school graduates. Rather, this paper shows that incomes of the low- and unskilled increased faster than those for more-skilled. Despite of similar technological change and rapid economic development, Sweden did not exhibit a comparable rise in high school education as the United States. The paper suggests other mechanisms for the falling skill premium in Sweden, such as informal schooling, emigration, and trade union activity. |
| Keywords: | Skill premium; industrialization; Sweden; income inequality |
| JEL: | J24 J30 N34 |
| Date: | 2024–04–04 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:hhs:gunhis:0040&r=his |
| By: | Kohnert, Dirk |
| Abstract: | The adoption of Judaism by black Africans was a form of liberation from Anglo-Christian authority. Blacks and Jews are the two marginalised and stigmatised minorities in Western culture. Since ancient times they have maintained a complex relationship of identification, cooperation and rivalry. The Igbo of Nigeria, for example, were at the forefront of a normative Jewish movement that included several other ethnic groups. The rhetoric of the Holocaust, Zionism and the external features of Judaism were exploited by the Biafran neo-secessionists for their own ends. The majority of African Jews live in South Africa. However, most of them are white. The South African Jewish community numbered more than 120, 000 in the mid-1970s. After several large waves of emigration at the end of the apartheid regime, the number fell to just over 50, 000. However, the Jewish claim to South African citizenship is controversial. The South African host society distinguishes between the Jewish diaspora and South African citizenship. Since the early 1990s, the second-largest Jewish community in sub-Saharan Africa has developed in Nigeria, which previously did not appear on any map of the Jewish world. Nine out of ten Nigerian Jews are Igbo. Estimates range from 3, 000 to 30, 000 Jews. Israel, however, refuses to recognise them as a Jewish population. In the DR Congo, a small Jewish community has held a special position since colonial times. Many Jews were among Leopold II's close advisers and agents in his Congo Free State (1885-1908). Jews also played an important role in Katanga Province in the 20th century, when the first mines were opened there and a railway line to South Africa was built. However, Mobutu's Zairisation (1973) and the looting of 1991 forced most Jewish entrepreneurs to leave the country. Ethiopia could be considered the cradle of Judaism, including the ancient kingdom of Sheba, mentioned in the Hebrew Bible and the Koran, and Beta Israel. Today, however, the harsh reality faced by Ethiopian Jewish immigrants in Israel reveals the racism that is deeply rooted in Israeli society. |
| Keywords: | identité juive; mythologie juive; juifs noirs; diaspora juive; histoire des juifs en Afrique; juifs éthiopiens; peuple Lemba; juifs igbo; Afrique subsaharienne; Afrique du Sud; Nigeria; RD Congo; Éthiopie; Projet Ouganda; |
| JEL: | F35 F52 F54 K37 N17 N37 N97 O15 O55 Z12 Z13 |
| Date: | 2024–03–25 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:pra:mprapa:120548&r=his |
| By: | Dincecco, Mark (University of Michigan); Fenske, James (University of Warwick); Gupta, Bishnupriya (University of Warwick); Menon, Anil (University of California) |
| Abstract: | We study the relationship between exposure to historical conflict involving heavy weaponry and male-favoring gender norms. We argue that the physical nature of such conflict produced cultural norms favoring males and male offspring. We focus on spatial variation in gender norms across India, a dynamic developing economy in which gender inequality persists. We show robust evidence that areas with high exposure to pre-colonial conflict are significantly more likely to exhibit malefavoring gender norms as measured by male-biased sex ratios and crimes against women. We document how conflict-related gender norms have been transmitted over time via male-favoring folkloric traditions, the gender identity of temple gods, and male-biased marriage practices, and have been transmitted across space by migrants originally from areas with high conflict exposure. |
| Keywords: | War ; Gender Norms ; Cultural Beliefs ; Development ; India, History JEL Codes: J16 ; N45 ; 011 ; P46 ; Z13 |
| Date: | 2024 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:wrk:warwec:1491&r=his |
| By: | Thomas Baudin (IÉSEG School of Management, Univ. Lille, CNRS, UMR 9221 - LEM - Lille Economie Management, F-59000 Lille, France and IRES, Université catholique de Louvain); Robert Stelter (University of Basel, Faculty of Business and Economics and Max Planck Institute for Demographic Research) |
| Abstract: | After coming to power in 1933, the National Socialist German Workers’ Party employed propaganda to reinforce the dominance of the Aryan Volk and swiftly implemented a series of economic and proactive family policies. Among these measures, the ’Law for the Encouragement of Marriage’ emerged as one of the most far-reaching and distortionary policies in the history of family policy. Its primary aim was to restrict women’s labor force participation in order to alleviate unemployment and promote the growth of the Aryan population. We evaluate the impact of National Socialism on marital fertility in (West) Germany by analyzing census data from 1933, 1939, and 1970. Our findings indicate that the first years of domination by the Nazis are associated with a transitory increase in fertility until 1938. Importantly, German women who were fully exposed to the Nazi family policies experienced a smaller rise in marital fertility as measured in 1938, compared to their compatriots who had only partial exposure. This relative decline can be attributed to the severe penalties imposed on childless, unmarried individuals, which incentivized Germans to enter into lower-quality and less fertile unions. The negative selection effect, depressing fertility, persisted until 1970, and represents the primary legacy of Nazism on the fertility of German women. |
| Keywords: | Third Reich, Fertility, Marriage, Divorce, Female labor force participation |
| JEL: | J1 D1 N3 |
| Date: | 2023–12 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:ies:wpaper:e202407&r=his |
| By: | Daniel Aaronson; Mark Borgschulte; Sunny Liu; Bhashkar Mazumder |
| Abstract: | Does education lead to political engagement? The empirical literature is mixed. Theory suggests economic context matters. Individuals unable to take advantage of education in the labor market are more likely to engage in political activity. We find support for this channel during the rapid expansion of NAACP branches in the South around WWII. Branch growth was stronger where Black workers were denied returns to schooling due to Jim Crow occupational discrimination. We further show that a pre-1931 large-scale school construction program caused greater NAACP activity during the 1940s and 1950s when many former students were in their prime working years. |
| Keywords: | Education; Human capital |
| JEL: | I26 J7 N32 |
| Date: | 2024–02–15 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:fip:fedhwp:97997&r=his |
| By: | Thomas Baudin (IESEG School of Management, Univ. Lille, CNRS UMR 9221 - LEM - Lille Economie Management, F-59000 Lille, France and IRES, UCLouvain, Belgium); David de la Croix (IRES/LIDAM, UCLouvain, Belgium and CEPR, Paris) |
| Abstract: | Reflect on the escape from a stagnant or Malthusian system. If this transformation is propelled by human capital, it should be spearheaded by individuals possessing elevated humancapital. To explore this hypothesis, we investigate the connection between family size and human capital among academics in Northern Europe in the two centuries leading up to the Industrial Revolution. We gauge scholars’ human capital using a novel approach based on their publications. We find that scholars with a high number of publications shifted from having more siblings to having fewer than others during the first half of the 18th century. This shift is consistent with an evolutionary growth model in which the initial Malthusian constraint leads the high human capital families to reproduce more, before being endogenously substituted by a Beckerian constraint with a child quality-quantity tradeoff. Our results support an extension of the Galor and Moav (2002)’s approach, in which the decline of Malthusian constraints is linked to human capital accumulation during the 18th century. |
| Keywords: | Universities, Academies, Fertility, Scholars, Human Capital |
| JEL: | N3 J1 O4 |
| Date: | 2024–01 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:ies:wpaper:e202408&r=his |
| By: | Gilles Paché (CERGAM - Centre d'Études et de Recherche en Gestion d'Aix-Marseille - AMU - Aix Marseille Université - UTLN - Université de Toulon) |
| Abstract: | Since February 2022, two major geopolitical crises have shaken the world. First, Russia attacked Ukrainian territory as part of a "special military operation" to demilitarize it and defend Russian-speaking regions. In turn, in October 2023, the Middle East has experienced a new dramatic episode in its history, with an Israeli-Palestinian war in the Gaza Strip. In both cases, the violent fighting is causing humanitarian crises. While this is an essential issue, it should not conceal the reality of major ecological disasters. This article points out that war-related environmental crises have been a known reality since the 1960s and should lead to the definitive recognition of war ecocides. |
| Keywords: | Crises, Ecology, War ecocides |
| Date: | 2024–03 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:hal:journl:hal-04510513&r=his |
| By: | Nardy Antunes, Davi José; Tunes Mazon, Marilia; Cardoso de Mello, João Manuel |
| Abstract: | The extraordinary technological progress in recent decades rekindles the questions raised by John M. Keynes in Economic Possibilities for Our Grandchildren, especially about its emancipatory potential. Economic development has rendered work almost irrelevant for social reproduction and wealth generation in the 21st century, by reducing its necessity to produce our existence. It has also made human emancipation possible, expanding freedom and leisure time, creating room for a good life – as Keynes had envisioned through the lens of the ancient Greeks – rich in love, friendship, beauty, and the pursuit of truth. However, overcoming the economic problem seems distant politically. This paper discusses two central issues. The first is the corporate restructuring that has taken place in recent decades, characterized by de-conglomeration and rentism, which has shaped a new international division of labor. Under the logic of “shareholder value”, large corporations have focused on their core business, reduced their productive investments, and prioritized the financial appreciation of their stocks and dividend distribution. Technological monopolization and its private appropriation have led to material abundance for only a small portion of the wealthy and their associates, driven by consumerism and waste, especially in affluent countries. The second issue is related to the impact of the development of productive forces on the rich countries’ labor markets, leading to the exclusion of increasingly larger segments of the population, subject to structural unemployment and deteriorating living conditions. In a neoliberal political order, technological advancement has pushed growing portions of the population into serving the wealthy, the only remaining activity that expands job opportunities while exacerbating social inequality. |
| Keywords: | technological progress; business restructuring; labor market |
| JEL: | O14 |
| Date: | 2023–12 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:pra:mprapa:120397&r=his |
| By: | Matthew S. Jaremski; Steven Sprick Schuster |
| Abstract: | The lack of universal deposit insurance coverage can create liquidity risk during financial crises. This aspect of deposit insurance is hard to test in modern data because of the broad coverage of most systems. We, therefore, study the role that the U.S. Postal Savings System played in commercial bank closures during the Great Depression. The system offered households a federally insured deposit account at post offices throughout the nation, and its structure provides a near-ideal environment to identify this competitive liquidity risk during a crisis. We find that banks that operated nearby a post office that accepted deposits were more likely to close between 1929 and 1935. We further make use of a structural change in the availability of postal depositories in the early 1910 to estimate an IV regression that confirms the results. In either model, the effect is strongest for those banks with low reserves, suggesting that the mechanism was through depositor withdrawals rather than other factors. |
| JEL: | G21 H42 N22 |
| Date: | 2024–03 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:nbr:nberwo:32284&r=his |
| By: | Benjamin Enke |
| Abstract: | This article calls for a greater integration of moral psychology and political economy. While these disciplines were initially deeply intertwined, cross-disciplinary exchange became rare throughout the 20th century. More recently, the tide has shifted again – social scientists of different backgrounds recognized that morality and politico-economic outcomes influence each other in rich bi-directional ways. Because psychologists and economists possess distinct and complementary skill sets, part of this movement consists of productive ‘economic imperialism’ – economists leveraging their empirical toolkit to test and substantiate theories from moral psychology at scale or in the wild. To illustrate this, I present two case studies of recent economics research on prominent ideas in moral psychology. First, the theory that morality is ultimately economically functional – that it evolved as a form of ‘psychological and biological police’ to enforce cooperation in economic production and exchange. Second, that the structure of morality shapes political views and polarization, including on economic issues such as taxation and redistribution. I conclude from these case studies that economists have much to gain from integrating more ideas from moral psychology, and that moral psychologists will be able to make an even more compelling case that morality and politico-economic outcomes influence each other if they engage with research in economics. |
| JEL: | D01 D70 |
| Date: | 2024–03 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:nbr:nberwo:32279&r=his |
| By: | Xavier Cirera; Diego A. Comin; Marcio Cruz |
| Abstract: | We construct a grid that covers the key business functions of an establishment and the main technologies used in each of them. We populate this grid with data from over 20, 000 establishments in 15 countries. We use this dataset to document novel “facts” about how establishments use technology, the sourcing of business functions, the specialization of establishments from a task perspective, the measurement of technology, and the relationship between technology sophistication and productivity across establishments. We find that differences in technology sophistication account for 31% of cross-establishment dispersion in productivity and for more than half of the agricultural productivity gap. |
| JEL: | O33 |
| Date: | 2024–03 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:nbr:nberwo:32281&r=his |
| By: | Tom Coupé (University of Canterbury); Maksym Obrizan |
| Abstract: | In this chapter, we summarize the literature on the relationship between war and happiness, highlighting the heterogeneity in both estimates and study designs, and the challenges to estimating the causal impact of war on happiness. |
| Keywords: | War, Happiness, Subjective Well-Being (SWB), Causality, Heterogeneity |
| JEL: | I31 D74 C90 O15 |
| Date: | 2024–04–01 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:cbt:econwp:24/06&r=his |
| By: | Nardy Antunes, Davi José; Tunes Mazon, Marilia |
| Abstract: | The thesis of this paper is that the conception of liberal democracy developed by Schumpeter and consecrated by American political science has always been characterized by concealing existing power structures, presuming that the political system is impervious to pressures from the economy and society. The economic, social, political, and cultural transformations of recent decades have undermined the remaining assumptions that supported liberal democracy. A true simulacrum, the political system has become a dictatorship of the rich. This work highlights two aspects of this process. The unprecedented concentration of capital and power in the hands of a financial oligarchy has eliminated power alternatives, imposing its interests through control of the mass media and suppressing the debate on the great destinies of societies. At the same time, recent technological changes, along with neoliberal policies, have disorganized the labor market and the very structure of classes by eliminating numerous jobs and careers and turning work into an appendix of the social reproduction process, where jobs are intermittent and task-based. The result has been the re-emergence of a mass of rootless, undifferentiated, and depoliticized individuals with no capacity to understand contemporary political situations and organize in defense of their interests. These are the basis for the resurgence of fascist trends in contemporary societies. |
| Keywords: | Democracy, Neoliberalism, and Financial Oligarchy |
| JEL: | B31 N2 |
| Date: | 2024–01 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:pra:mprapa:120398&r=his |
| By: | Egger, Peter (ETH Zürich); Syropoulos, Constantinos (Drexel University, School of Economics); Yotov, Yoto (Drexel University, School of Economics) |
| Abstract: | Inspired by the increased interest in economic sanctions and their consequences, this special issue contains a collection of studies by experts aiming to reflect the recent developments and trends in the literature on economic sanctions. The contributions contain theoretical research on the topic, data collection, and empirical work on the impact, effectiveness and success of sanctions. Moreover, the contributions come from economists and political scientists and are, therefore, interdisciplinary in nature. In this introduction, we highlight each paper in the volume by summarizing its salient features and by placing them in the broader context of the literature on economic sanctions. We also synthesize several takeaways and conclude by identifying questions we believe future research should shed further light on. |
| Keywords: | Economic Sanctions; Impact of Sanctions; Sanction Theory and Data. |
| JEL: | F10 H50 N40 |
| Date: | 2024–03–04 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:ris:drxlwp:2024_003&r=his |
| By: | Minxian Sun (China Economics and Management Academy, Central University of Finance and Economics); Heng-fu Zou (The World Bank; Institute for Advanced Study, Wuhan University) |
| Abstract: | Property-rights capital stands as a fragile entity, encountering obstacles, regressions, and challenges worldwide. This underscores the necessity to endogenize both property-rights capital accumulation and physical capital accumulation within an integrated dynamic framework. Through this approach, our paper explores the complex interplay between economic variables and institutional capital, with a specific focus on property-rights capital. It emphasizes the necessity of integrating the accumulation of property-rights capital and physical capital within a dynamic framework to fully grasp their interaction. The study reveals that property-rights capital, serving as institutional capital, is deeply interconnected with the accumulation of physical capital, economic growth, and development. Notably, when the cost of new investments in property-rights capital formation rises, it results in decreased long-run property-rights investment, property-rights capital, physical capital, and consumption. Similarly, an increase in the depreciation rate of property-rights capital leads to reductions in long-run property-rights investments, the accumulation of property-rights capital, physical capital, and consumption. Conversely, an increase in the total factor productivity is associated with higher long-run property-rights investments, accumulation of property-rights capital, physical capital, and consumption. |
| Date: | 2024–04–15 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:cuf:wpaper:625&r=his |
| By: | Florent Bédécarrats (IRD, UMI SOURCE); Isabelle Guérin (IRD, CESSMA (Paris, France), IFP (Pondicherry, India)); François Roubaud (DIAL-LEDa, IRD, Université Paris-Dauphine, PSL Université); Mireille Razafindrakoto (DIAL-LEDa, IRD, Université Paris-Dauphine, PSL Université) |
| Abstract: | For around twenty years, Randomized Controlled Trials (RCTs) have been considered the gold standard of causal attribution and have gradually acquired a dominant position in the method of administering proof in the field of development. This domination, supported by a powerful pro-RCT movement, was crowned by the obtention of various positions of power and the awarding of numerous distinctions, including the Nobel Prize in Economics in 2019 to three of its tutelary figures, praised for their contribution to the fight against poverty. Since then, the Covid-19 pandemic hit the world as the biggest global poverty shock in decades. This article questions the role played by RCTs in the policies implemented to fight the health crisis. The 1st section examines the contribution of RCTs to health policies. The 2nd focuses on what randomists did during the period, and pays particular attention to the growing importance of nudges. The 3rd concerns the contribution of RCTs to meeting the development challenges recognized as priorities by the United Nations and the scientific community during and following the pandemic. The 4th offers elements of explanation for the growing hiatus between the accentuation of the domination of RCTs and their marginal contribution to mitigate the pandemic effects, shown by the previous sections, in particular by developing the concept of “scientific populism”. To our knowledge, this paper constitutes the first critical synthesis of RCTs and related issues in times of Covid-19 and beyond. |
| Keywords: | Covid-19, Development; Experimental method, Impact evaluation; Political economy; Poverty; Randomised control trials; SDG; Scientific populism; Développement; Economie politique; Evaluation d’impact; Méthode expérimentale; ODD; Nudge; Pauvreté; Populisme scientifique |
| JEL: | A11 B41 C18 C93 D72 O10 |
| Date: | 2024–03 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:dia:wpaper:dt202404&r=his |
| By: | Backes, Annika; Müller, Steffen |
| Abstract: | We provide first evidence for the long-run causal impact that Chinese imports to European regions had on voting outcomes and revisit earlier estimates of the short-run impact for a methodological reason. The fringes of the political spectrum gained ground many years after the China shock plateaued and, unlike an earlier study by Colantone and Stanig (2018b), we do not find any robust evidence for a short-run effect on far-right votes. Instead, far-left and populist parties gained in the short run. We identify persistent long-run effects of import shocks on voting. These effects are biased towards populism and, to a lesser extent, to the far-right. |
| Keywords: | globalization, import shocks, populism, voting behavior |
| JEL: | D72 F6 J2 |
| Date: | 2024 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:zbw:iwhdps:287751&r=his |
| By: | Sanchez, Fabio (Universidad de los Andes); Duarte, Diego (Universidad de los Andes); Páez-Bucheli, Alejandra (Universidad de los Andes); Soto-Peña, Laura (Universidad de los Andes) |
| Abstract: | Este artículo analiza las características económicas y sociopolíticas de los grupos indígenas que ocuparon el territorio de la actual Colombia antes de la llegada de los colonizadores españoles, junto con la geografía de las áreas donde vivieron o se establecieron. Se argumenta que las características geográficas del territorio estaban vinculadas a la estructura productiva de las sociedades indígenas precolombinas, lo que a su vez afectó su organización social y política. Se destaca que la capacidad del territorio para cultivar alimentos de alto contenido calórico, como la papa, estaba relacionada con el grado de complejidad sociopolítica de estas sociedades. Por ejemplo, la civilización muisca, una de las más desarrolladas y especializadas en la época de la colonización, prosperó en el altiplano cundiboyacense gracias al cultivo y almacenamiento de papa. Por otro lado, el maíz y la yuca eran más comunes en regiones habitadas por sociedades de cazadores-recolectores y horticultores, aunque también fueron cruciales en los primeros asentamientos, el crecimiento demográfico y la expansión hacia el interior del país. A partir del siglo XVI, el nivel de desarrollo económico y sociopolítico de los grupos indígenas influyó significativamente en su interacción con los colonizadores europeos. |
| Keywords: | geografía; pueblos indígenas; papa; muiscas; desarrollo precolonial |
| JEL: | N36 N56 N96 O13 |
| Date: | 2024–04–11 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:col:000089:021126&r=his |
| By: | Roberto Serrano |
| Abstract: | This is a comment on Nomidis (2023). Using simple examples, the focus is on the conditions that lead to Cournot’s competitive limit result, showcasing the connections between the Cournot model and competitive equilibrium. Citing original sources, it is argued that the Neoclassical economists did not misunderstand Cournot, as Nomidis (2023) asserts. |
| Date: | 2023 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:bro:econwp:2023-003&r=his |
| By: | Antoinette Baujard (Université Jean Monnet, 42 023 Saint-Etienne, France. GATE Lyon Saint-Etienne (UMR CNRS 5824)) |
| Abstract: | Sen nous invite à penser autrement l'aide des décisions publiques et l'évaluation des politiques publiques. Plutôt que de déduire mécaniquement une recommandation de l’agrégation de certaines informations réputées représenter l'utilité des individus et une recommandation, il montre l'importance du débat sur l’information. Il met en évidence la pertinence des informations subjectives et objectives, individuelles et collectives, les sentiments moraux des personnes et les énoncés scientifiques, en même temps que la nécessité de prendre au sérieux leurs limites. Une décision collective juste exige de combiner l’ensemble de ces informations, individuelles et collectives, subjectives et objectives dans le cadre d’un raisonnement public. |
| JEL: | A11 A13 B31 D63 |
| Date: | 2024 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:gat:wpaper:2403&r=his |
| By: | Oded Galor; Marc Kemp; Daniel C. Wainstock |
| Abstract: | Evidence suggests that the prehistoric out-of-Africa Migration has impacted the degree of intra-population genetic and phenotypic diversity across the globe. This paper provides the first evidence that this migration has shaped cultural diversity. Leveraging a folklore catalogue of 958 oral traditions across the world, we find that ethnic groups further away from East Africa along the migratory routes have lower folkloric diversity. This pattern is consistent with the compression of genetic, phenotypic, and phonemic traits along the out-of-Africa migration routes, setting conditions for the emergence and proliferation of differential cultural diversity and economic development across the world. |
| Date: | 2023 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:bro:econwp:2023-002&r=his |