|
on Business, Economic and Financial History |
| By: | Myles, Jamieson |
| Abstract: | Financial technology (fintech) innovations have the potential to disrupt traditional banking by unbundling banking, money, and payments. However, the impact on the cross-border payments system—which still relies on correspondent banking networks—remains uncertain. This uncertainty partly stems from a historical focus in the literature on cash clearing over credit. Challenging this distinction, this article explores the role of credit in correspondent banking and international payments. A longue durée perspective on cashless payments reveals the deep-rooted importance of credit in the cross-border payment system and highlights correspondent banks’ role in providing it. Changes in bank-intermediated trade finance practices during and after World War I reshaped the London-based correspondent banking network. Furthermore, cash clearing and credit operations remained remarkably congruent until at least the 1980s, as reflected in banks’ internal organisation, reporting, and bankers’ own descriptions of the payment system. This article argues that adopting a definition of payment system infrastructure that integrates both dimensions is essential to understanding how correspondent banking has facilitated international liquidity provision. It also suggests that relying on fintech firms, rather than banks, to provide this elastic payment infrastructure could amount to jumping out of the frying pan and into the fire. |
| Keywords: | Correspondent banking, Payment systems, Infrastructure, Banking history |
| JEL: | N00 N10 N20 B52 |
| Date: | 2025 |
| URL: | https://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:gnv:wpaper:unige:186604 |
| By: | Jaramillo-Echeverri, Juliana |
| Abstract: | Across the world educated women tend to have fewer children than their less-educated peers. This paper provides new stylised facts about the long-run relationship between women’s education and fertility at both the national and individual levels. I focus on Colombia, a country that experienced both a rapid fertility decline and fast expansion of education in the mid-20th century and I use data from the censuses of 1973, 1985, 1993, 2005 and 2018. The findings caution that the relationship between fertility and women’s education is not always monotonic and this relationship changes significantly depending on the aggregation of the data. At the individual level, the relationship between education and fertility holds strongly and education increases the probability of remaining childless, reduces the total number of children and the likelihood of having a birth at a younger and older age, suggesting a strong trade-off between education and fertility. Peer effects, such as the percentage of peers with secondary education, are ruled out, which suggests that the externalities of education had a moderate effect on uneducated women. On the other hand, at the national level, the fertility decline cannot be explained by education as fertility has fallen continuously in all educational groups since 1965.Across the world educated women tend to have fewer children than their less-educated peers. This paper provides new stylised facts about the long-run relationship between women’s education and fertility at both the national and individual levels. I focus on Colombia, a country that experienced both a rapid fertility decline and fast expansion of education in the mid-20th century and I use data from the censuses of 1973, 1985, 1993, 2005 and 2018. The findings caution that the relationship between fertility and women’s education is not always monotonic and this relationship changes significantly depending on the aggregation of the data. At the individual level, the relationship between education and fertility holds strongly and education increases the probability of remaining childless, reduces the total number of children and the likelihood of having a birth at a younger and older age, suggesting a strong trade-off between education and fertility. Peer effects, such as the percentage of peers with secondary education, are ruled out, which suggests that the externalities of education had a moderate effect on uneducated women. On the other hand, at the national level, the fertility decline cannot be explained by education as fertility has fallen continuously in all educational groups since 1965. |
| Keywords: | fertility, education, Colombia, census data |
| JEL: | J13 |
| Date: | 2025–07 |
| URL: | https://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:rie:riecdt:116 |
| By: | Paker, Meredith; Stephenson, Judy; Wallis, Patrick |
| Abstract: | Understanding long-run economic growth requires reliable historical data, yet the vast majority of long-run economic time series are drawn from incomplete records with significant temporal and geographic gaps. Conventional solutions to these gaps rely on linear regressions that risk bias or overfitting when data are scarce. We introduce “past predictive modeling, ” a framework that leverages machine learning and out-of-sample predictive modeling techniques to reconstruct representative historical time series from scarce data. Validating our approach using nominal wage data from England, 1300-1900, we show that this new method leads to more accurate and generalizable estimates, with bootstrapped standard errors 72% lower than benchmark linear regressions. Beyond just bettering accuracy, these improved wage estimates for England yield new insights into the impact of the Black Death on inequality, the economic geography of pre-industrial growth, and productivity over the long-run. |
| Keywords: | machine learning; predictive modeling; wages; black death; industrial revolution |
| JEL: | J31 C53 N33 N13 N63 |
| Date: | 2025–06–13 |
| URL: | https://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:ehl:lserod:128852 |
| By: | Basco, Sergi; Roses, Joan R. |
| Abstract: | The economic impact of pandemics is commonly studied using theoretical models that assume constant returns to scale and no factor movements. This article argues that a new economic geography model with increasing returns to scale and capital mobility better explains the effects of pandemics in modern economies. Our model predicts that pandemics shape where investments are made, leading to long-term impacts on economic development. To test this, we examine the consequences of the Great Influenza Pandemic on credit allocation and structural transformation in Spain from 1915 to 1929. Our research shows that credit growth was lower in regions with high mortality. Quantitatively, a one standard deviation increase in flu-driven mortality decreases credit (per capita) by 13.6%. We also document that this flu-driven reallocation of credit resulted in an increase in relative urban GDP in low mortality rate regions. A one standard deviation increase in flu-driven credit raises relative urban GDP by 9.5%. |
| Keywords: | pandemics; capital mobility; economic geography; structural change |
| JEL: | E32 N10 N30 N90 O11 |
| Date: | 2025–05 |
| URL: | https://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:ehl:lserod:128853 |
| By: | Chilosi, David; Lecce, Giampaolo; Wallis, Patrick |
| Abstract: | Adam Smith’s claim that the division of labour is one of the major engines of economic growth is a foundational concept in economics. Despite this, we lack measures of the scale and growth of Smithian specialisation over the long run. This paper introduces a novel method based on job titles to measure specialisation. We apply this method to document patterns of Smithian specialisation in early modern Britain. National trends in specialisation were closely associated with economic growth. By 1800, the division of labour was over two and a half times as advanced as in the early sixteenth century, with particularly marked changes within English manufacturing, especially in the mechanical subsector, and, to a lesser extent, services. Specialisation was far less advanced in Wales and Scotland. We study several possible explanations for this change with an IV panel analysis. We find that this significant increase in the division of labour was mostly driven by the growth of the domestic market, in line with Adam Smith’s predictions. Intensive specialisation was concentrated in Middlesex and was helped by a supply factor, Marshallian externalities. Finally, we explore the connection between Smithian Growth and the Industrial Revolution. We find that early specialisation did not lead to later industrial success. Like Adam Smith himself, Smithian specialisation did not predict the Industrial Revolution. |
| Keywords: | economic growth; division of labour; specialisation; tasks; Adam Smith; Britain; productivity; industrial revolution; market potential |
| JEL: | N13 O47 J21 |
| Date: | 2025–07–04 |
| URL: | https://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:ehl:lserod:128849 |
| By: | Cédric Chambru; Simon Hediger; Jakob Metzler; Ulrich Woitek |
| Abstract: | This paper examines the evolution of the biological standard of living using anthropometric data from approximately 22, 000 Swiss mercenaries born between c. 1725 and c. 1865. Analyzing mercenary data presents two key challenges: left-truncation due to height requirements and potential selection bias across regiments. We address these issues by estimating regiment-specific minimum height thresholds to account for variations in recruitment standards and resource constraints, and by controlling for regiment affiliation to mitigate selection bias. Our findings indicate a decline in average height beginning in the 1770s and continuing into the first half of the 19th century, with no evidence of recovery. While the unique nature of the mercenary sample limits broad generalizations, our results align with the economic hardships of the late 18th century, the challenges of early industrialization, and existing anthropometric evidence from Switzerland and other European countries. |
| Date: | 2025–06 |
| URL: | https://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:zur:econwp:473 |
| By: | Youcef Bakhtaoui (MADEO-EST Oujda - Research Laboratory in Business and Organizational Management and Development Higher School of Technology Mohammed First University, Oujda); Fadoua Eljai (MADEO-EST Oujda - Research Laboratory in Business and Organizational Management and Development Higher School of Technology Mohammed First University, Oujda) |
| Abstract: | In recent years, the world has undergone profound transformations that have necessitated the re-evaluation and reformulation of economic concepts to align with the demands of evolving circumstances. In response to these changes, the scientific community must prioritize studying such concepts particularly, the notion of industrial sovereignty within a multidimensional and cognitive framework. This study is grounded in a scoping review conducted through a flexible and iterative approach, aiming to map the various dimensions of industrial sovereignty. It also incorporates a conceptual analysis to clarify key terms and frameworks. The research adopts a narrative and critical perspective, tracing the evolution of Moroccan industrial strategies within their historical and geopolitical context. Building on this theoretical analysis, the paper seeks to identify tools and criteria for measuring industrial sovereignty in Morocco. This is achieved through a comprehensive vision that not only enriches the conceptual understanding of the concept but also offers practical insights for its application in comparable economic contexts. By bridging theoretical exploration and historical analysis, the study aspires to advance the discourse on industrial sovereignty and its implications for economic resilience and strategic autonomy. |
| Abstract: | Durant ces dernières années, le monde a connu de profondes transformations nécessitant la réévaluation et la reformulation des concepts économiques afin de les adapter aux exigences d'un contexte en perpétuelle mutation. Face à ces évolutions, la communauté scientifique se doit de privilégier l'étude de ces concepts, en particulier de la souveraineté industrielle selon une perspective multidimensionnelle et cognitive. La présente recherche s'appuie sur une revue exploratoire (scoping review) menée selon une approche flexible et itérative, visant à cartographier les différentes dimensions de la notion de souveraineté industrielle. Elle mobilise également une analyse conceptuelle destinée à clarifier les concepts clés et les cadres d'analyse associés. Cette recherche mobilise également une démarche narrative et critique, en retraçant l'évolution des stratégies industrielles marocaines dans leur contexte historique et géopolitique. En se basant sur cette analyse théorique, ce travail de recherche vise à identifier les outils et critères permettant d'évaluer la souveraineté industrielle au Maroc. Cette démarche s'inscrit dans une vision globale, qui vise non seulement à enrichir la compréhension théorique du concept, mais aussi à fournir des pistes empiriques pour son application dans des contextes économiques similaires. En articulant l'exploration théorique et l'analyse historique, cette étude ambitionne de faire progresser la réflexion sur la souveraineté industrielle, tout en soulignant ses implications sur la résilience économique et l'autonomie stratégique. |
| Keywords: | Sovereignty, industry, evolution, old-new, paradigm., Souveraineté, industrie, évolution, ancien-nouveau, paradigme. |
| Date: | 2025–06–08 |
| URL: | https://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:hal:journl:hal-05111573 |
| By: | Iregui-Bohórquez, Ana María; Ramírez-Giraldo, María Teresa; Caicedo-Silva, Sara Isabel |
| Abstract: | Este artículo analiza la trayectoria de las mujeres en el Banco de la República de Colombia a lo largo de sus 100 años de historia, y examina la experiencia de otros bancos centrales en el mundo para proporcionar un contexto internacional. Dado el escaso registro histórico sobre patrones de género en los bancos centrales, especialmente en América Latina, este documento contribuye en parte a llenar este vacío, al recopilar la historia de las empleadas de la institución. Se abordan temas como la participación laboral femenina, los cambios en las normas sociales y culturales, la educación, el papel pionero de las primeras empleadas en los bancos centrales, su desarrollo profesional y su representación en cargos directivos. Se encuentra que la evolución del empleo femenino en el Banco de la República sigue un patrón similar al de otros bancos centrales, donde la relación de las mujeres con sus empleos ha evolucionado hacia la construcción de una carrera profesional. |
| Keywords: | Banco Central, participación laboral femenina, normas sociales, patrones de género |
| JEL: | N36 J16 E58 |
| Date: | 2025–07 |
| URL: | https://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:rie:riecdt:117 |
| By: | Nina Habjan Villarreal (University of Tokyo) |
| Abstract: | This presentation will focus on the travels and experiences of the Japanese writer Shimao Toshio (1917-1986) in Eastern Europe. I will explore how Shimao, as an author known for his works that redefine the Japanese I-novel in the sometimes surrealist, dreamlike ways, approaches the genre of non-fiction, using it to further explore his dreamlike narratives in the novels published after his travels abroad. I will particularly focus on his travelogue "Yume no kage wo motomete" ("Seeking the Shadows of Dreams, " 1975) and his semi-autobiographical novel "Hi no utsuroi" ("The Passing of Days, " 1977), seeing how the narrative of his travel writing continues to play a role in the novel, where the boundaries between the two realities and the narrators describing and experiencing them begin to blur. |
| Keywords: | Shimao Toshio, Japanese literature, Travel writing, I-novel, Dreams, Reality |
| URL: | https://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:sek:iacpro:14916720 |
| By: | Juif, Dacil Tania; Mühlhoff, Katharina |
| Abstract: | The economic history of mining has largely overlooked the role of women, reflecting both the male dominance of the sector and the invisibility of women’s labour in historical sources. This chapter explores women’s roles in mining over the past two centuries, focusing on the Global South -particularly Africa- and includes a case study of copper mining in Rio Tinto, Spain, using company records. While mineral extraction was reserved for men, women played key supporting roles, especially in the 20th-century Global South, though this rarely translated into improved conditions or career opportunities. Within Africa, regional differences were stark: for instance, Angolan diamond mines increased female employment in the 1950s, while women were absent from company payrolls in the Central African Copperbelt. In Rio Tinto, most employed women were widows in vulnerable positions, suggesting that their work served as a form of social insurance rather than a step toward economic inclusion. These patterns highlight the need for further research using company records to better understand the influence of policy, culture, and industry structure on women’s roles in mining. |
| Keywords: | Mining Work; Women; History; Global South; Africa; Rio Tinto |
| JEL: | J01 J16 J81 N30 |
| Date: | 2025–07–16 |
| URL: | https://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:cte:whrepe:47597 |
| By: | Gaddy, Hampton; Gargiulo, Maria |
| Abstract: | BACKGROUND In the absence of high-quality data, the death tolls of epidemics, conflicts, and disasters are often estimated using ad hoc methods. One understudied class of methods, which we term the growth rate discontinuity method (GRDM), estimates death tolls by projecting pre-crisis and post-crisis total population estimates using crude growth rates and then subtracting the results. Despite, or perhaps due to, its simplicity, this method is the source of prominent death toll estimates for the Black Death, the 1918 influenza pandemic, the Great Chinese Famine, and the Rwandan genocide, among others. OBJECTIVE In this article, we review the influence and validity of GRDM and its applications. METHODS Using statistical simulation and comparison with better-validated demographic methods, we assess the accuracy, precision, and biases of this method for estimating mortality in absolute and relative terms. RESULTS We find that existing GRDM estimates often misestimate death tolls by large, unpredictable margins. Simulations suggest this is because GRDM requires precision in its inputs to an extent rarely possible in the contexts of interest. CONCLUSIONS If there is sufficient data to specify GRDM well, it is probably possible to also use a more reliable method; if there is not sufficient data, GRDM estimates are so sensitive to their assumptions that they cannot be considered informative. |
| JEL: | J11 |
| Date: | 2025–04–10 |
| URL: | https://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:ehl:lserod:128030 |
| By: | Kitamura, Shuhei; Lagerlöf, Nils-Petter |
| Abstract: | The location of cities is linked to access to trade, but security also matters, in particular for capitals. Here we document this phenomenon, and explore its implications, in the context of Europe’s Great Power era. First we show that Great Power battles tend to occur in shortest-distance corridors between belligerent powers’ capitals, except where those corridors are intercepted by seas, mountains, and marshes. Then we show that capitals locate closer to each other when they have more of these types of geography between them. Finally, we show that city pairs are less likely to belong to the same state if they have more of this geography between them, allowing us to use geography to predict the territorial size and shape of Europe’s Great Powers. In sum, our results suggest that terrain which slows down military incursions makes capitals safer, allowing them to locate closer to each other; given all capitals’ locations, the surrounding geography then shapes the associated state territories. |
| Date: | 2025–06–22 |
| URL: | https://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:osf:socarx:zj5gw_v1 |
| By: | Xu, Tao Louie |
| Abstract: | This research examines the limits of neoliberal economic growth in poverty mitigation and spotlights the role of social policy in mediating social and economic objectives. Based on double movement, fictitious commodities, and social embeddedness of plural markets, with a Polanyian perspective on Bolivia’s Water Wars case, it disenchants the marketism legacy in our contemporary neoliberalism materialised in growth-poverty dynamics. The findings indicate that economic growth is accessible but insufficient to mitigate multi-layered poverty around societal demands and structures. The research argues for a holistic, contextualised anti-poverty framework with protective social policy and mediated socio-economic development embedded in social relations during the neoliberal era. |
| Keywords: | neoliberalism; economic growth; poverty; fictitious commodities; double movement; social policy |
| JEL: | B5 B52 O1 O2 Z1 Z13 Z18 |
| Date: | 2024–04–13 |
| URL: | https://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:pra:mprapa:122658 |
| By: | Thomas Palley (Economics for Democratic and Opens Societies) |
| Abstract: | This paper presents a theory and model of long-run cycles in income inequality. The model explains the historical pattern of income distribution identified by Kuznets (1955) and Piketty (2014). It breaks with conventional marginal product theory which claims functional income distribution is determined by the technological conditions of production. Instead, it emphasizes the role of socio-political forces that shape and drive fluctuations in the level of popular political organizations, which then impact distribution. That impact includes assessment and attribution of productivity contributions. The model provides a framework for interpreting the historical evolution of income distribution and inequality, and for reflecting on current conditions and possible future developments. The core message is twofold. First, socio-political developments matter for income distribution. Second, if those developments are cyclical, income distribution will also exhibit cyclicality. |
| Keywords: | Income distribution, inequality, cycles, Kuznets curve, Piketty |
| JEL: | E3 J3 N3 |
| Date: | 2025 |
| URL: | https://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:imk:fmmpap:117-2025 |
| By: | Jakob Kapeller (Institute for Comprehensive Analysis of the Economy, Johannes Kepler University Linz, Austria; Institute for Socio-Economics, University of Duisburg-Essen, Germany); Claudius Graebner-Radkowitsch (Department for Pluralist Economics, Europa University Flensburg, Germany; Institute for Comprehensive Analysis of the Economy, Johannes Kepler University Linz, Austria); Stephan Puehringer (Institute for Comprehensive Analysis of the Economy, Johannes Kepler University Linz, Austria; Socio-Ecological Transformation Lab, Johannes Kepler University Linz, Austria) |
| Abstract: | Transformation is key term in the broader study of socio economic provisioning system that has gained increased prominence and visibility in recent years due to intensifying economic, social and ecological risks and crises in the global economy. In this short review we assess key understandings of transformation in the recent literature and map how these understandings build on, extend and potentially deviate from classic accounts of socio economic change as found classic accounts of evolutionary institutionalism. |
| Date: | 2025–07 |
| URL: | https://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:ico:wpaper:161 |
| By: | Karol Jan Borowiecki (University of Southern Denmark); Martin Hørlyk Kristensen (University of Southern Denmark); Marc T. Law (University of Vermont) |
| Abstract: | How does family background shape entry into elite professions, and how do changes in training regimes influence the allocation of talent? We study dynasties in Western classical composition, a setting where family ties historically influenced access, and where rich biographical data allow us to trace selection dynamics over multiple centuries. Using data on over 16, 000 composers from 450 CE to the present, we identify dynastic ties from Grove Music Online and measure prominence using the length of each composer’s biographical entry. Dynastic composers are between 14 and 21 percent less prominent than their non-dynastic peers, conditional on country and birth cohort. This discount is driven by descendants; founders are as prominent as non-dynasts, while descendants under-perform both. Similar results hold using archival manuscript data from R´epertoire International des Sources Musicales, suggesting the pattern is not an artifact of editorial selection. In the twentieth century, the pattern reverses: dynasts become more prominent, consistent with a shift from informal, family-based entry to standardized selection via conservatory training. Supporting this interpretation, we show that dynasts are less likely to have formal training mentioned in their biographies, and that the dynasty discount is smaller in regions and periods where conservatories were present. Our findings suggest that credentialing reforms may have influenced patterns of elite formation and talent allocation, offering broader insight into the relationship between human capital access and long-run economic performance. |
| Keywords: | talent allocation, dynasties, human capital transmission, conservatories, classical composers |
| JEL: | O15 J24 J62 I25 N30 Z11 |
| Date: | 2025–06 |
| URL: | https://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:cue:wpaper:awp-03-2025 |
| By: | Federico Barbiellini Amidei (Bank of Italy); Matteo Gomellini (Bank of Italy); Lorenzo Incoronato (CSEF, University of Naples Federico II, CESifo, CReAM and Rockwool Foundation Berlin); Paolo Piselli (Bank of Italy) |
| Abstract: | This paper studies the relationship between demographic change and entrepreneurship and highlights its spatial dimension. We digitize historical censuses to reconstruct entrepreneurship rates and the age structure of Italian provinces since1960. We develop an estimation framework that relates entrepreneurship to granular age cohorts of the local population, leveraging instrumental variables to address endogeneity issues. Our results uncover stark regional heterogeneity. In Northern Italy, we find a hump-shaped age-entrepreneurship profile peaking at cohorts aged 30-40. In the South, entrepreneurship increases with age. Regional differences in the local business environment partly account for different estimated profiles. |
| Keywords: | entrepreneurship, demographic change, regional differences, long run |
| JEL: | J11 L26 R11 |
| Date: | 2025–06–15 |
| URL: | https://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:sef:csefwp:752 |
| By: | Kvasin, Michael; Lamm, Claus; Martins, Mauricio (University of Vienna) |
| Abstract: | Germany's recent history has been characterized by economic and political crises, fascism, and two global wars. While obstacles existed until the final establishment of democracy, the underlying cultural preferences remain understudied. Here, we compiled a corpus of German fiction and analyzed the expression of cooperation and tolerance, replicating previous studies on democratization. We developed bag-of-words dictionaries measuring multiple facets of cooperation and tolerance to track their diachronic trends through 1890 and 1945 across the German Empire, Weimar Republic, and Third Reich. We tested whether cooperation and tolerance 1) increased over time, 2) preceded democratic shifts, and 3) followed socioeconomic performance (proxied by real wages and GDP per Capita). Generally, those hypotheses were not confirmed. First, while Openness increased over time, other proxies did not. Second, unlike shifts in England and France, cultural changes followed (not preceded) regime transitions, with Sympathy increasing during democracy and Prosociality and Positivity increasing during autocracy. Finally, while real wages and GDPpc may predict Sympathy and Prosociality, these results lacked robustness. We discuss how these findings might have been impacted by the exogenous character of Weimar’s democratization, the world wars, and data availability bias due to censorship and a lack of digitized literature from the Nazi-era. |
| Date: | 2025–06–23 |
| URL: | https://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:osf:osfxxx:un26x_v1 |
| By: | Laure Bereni (CMH - Centre Maurice Halbwachs - EHESS - École des hautes études en sciences sociales - CNRS - Centre National de la Recherche Scientifique - Département de Sciences sociales ENS-PSL - ENS-PSL - École normale supérieure - Paris - PSL - Université Paris Sciences et Lettres) |
| Abstract: | This essay offers a progressive critique of the business case for diversity, which has been the hegemonic justification for workplace diversity programs over the past 40 years. First, the article shows that, since its emergence in the 1980s, this approach has gained only fragile recognition in the corporate world. Second, it highlights three main conceptual inconsistencies of the business case for diversity: 1) it cannot be falsified, since the generic notion of diversity is so inherently polysemic and ambiguous; 2) even when the scope of diversity is more clearly delineated, the relationship between diversity and performance is inevitably circumscribed and contingent; 3) in practice, it is most often the appearance of diversity, equity, and inclusion that is tacitly acknowledged as a source of economic benefits in the corporate world. The article concludes by pointing to the political perils associated with the hegemonic position of the business rationale, not only for diversity initiatives but also for other "responsible" corporate programs such as sustainability and human rights. |
| Abstract: | Cet essai propose une critique progressiste de l'argumentaire économique en faveur de la diversité, qui a été la justification hégémonique des programmes de diversité en entreprise au cours des 40 dernières années. Tout d'abord, l'article montre que, depuis son apparition dans les années 1980, cette approche n'a obtenu qu'une reconnaissance fragile dans le monde de l'entreprise. Ensuite, il met en évidence trois incohérences conceptuelles principales de l'argumentaire économique en faveur de la diversité : 1) il ne peut être réfuté, car la notion générique de diversité est intrinsèquement polysémique et ambiguë ; 2) même lorsque la portée de la diversité est plus clairement délimitée, la relation entre diversité et performance est inévitablement circonscrite et contingente ; 3) dans la pratique, c'est le plus souvent l'apparence de diversité, d'équité et d'inclusion qui est tacitement reconnue comme source d'avantages économiques dans le monde de l'entreprise. |
| Keywords: | Diversity, Inclusion, Business case |
| Date: | 2024 |
| URL: | https://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:hal:journl:halshs-05067811 |
| By: | Roth, Steve; Bezemer, Dirk |
| Abstract: | Researchers of income, wealth and inequality have long called for data on total “Haig-Simons” income, which includes accrued capital gains. We integrate NIPA income and saving measures with Integrated Macroeconomic Accounts (IMAs) data to derive an open-access, balance-sheet-complete data set of 1960-2023 “Total U.S. Haig-Simons Household Income Accounts” (THIAs) for U.S. households, with distributional estimates covering 2000-2023. We highlight five trends in this data that all contribute to the increased U.S. wealth concentration since the late 1970s. For instance, 86% of Haig-Simons saving since 2000 accrued to the top 20% of households (by income), driven heavily by asset-price increases, plus top households’ lower and declining propensities to consume. |
| Keywords: | income, wealth, Haig-Simons, equality, inequality, distribution, consumption, saving |
| JEL: | B41 D31 O11 |
| Date: | 2024–06–14 |
| URL: | https://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:pra:mprapa:125174 |
| By: | Pridemore, William |
| Abstract: | The Criminologic Transition Model (CTM) provides an organizing framework for understanding how the nature of crime covaries with the character of social relations as societies develop. Societal evolution shifts the axes around which humans organize and interact, profoundly changing families, cities, nations, and weltanshauung. Technology progresses, there are revolutions in economic drivers, states increase control over citizens and commerce, and human rights mature. Families become smaller, adolescence is extended, population mobility increases, and people live longer. Surely victim, offender, and event characteristics – which in combination I label crime morphology – are part of these foundational transformations and thus follow systematic trajectories over time. I outline the need for and domain of CTM, describe its basic properties and theoretical lineage, define the elements and structure of the model, outline CTM’s general hypotheses, and summarize historical evidence that suggests centuries-long trajectories of specific victim, offender, and event characteristics during societal development. |
| Date: | 2025–07–11 |
| URL: | https://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:osf:socarx:4ve65_v1 |
| By: | Jan van Ours (Erasmus University Rotterdam and Tinbergen Institute) |
| Abstract: | Around 50 years ago, the Netherlands decriminalized cannabis for recreational use. This paper uses retrospective data on the ages at which individuals began and ceased cannabis use to reconstruct its prevalence in Amsterdam during the period surrounding the policy change. This approach enables a detailed analysis of the policy’s effects. The main conclusion is that the introduction of this policy did not lead to an increase in the prevalence of cannabis use. |
| JEL: | I12 I18 K42 |
| Date: | 2025–02–14 |
| URL: | https://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:tin:wpaper:20250009 |
| By: | Accominotti, Olivier; Lucena-Piquero, Delio; Ugolini, Stefano |
| Abstract: | This article studies the impact of intermediaries’ disappearance on firms’ access to the sterling money market during the first globalization era of 1880-1914. We propose a new methodology to assess intermediaries’ substitutability in financial networks featuring higher-order structures (credit intermediation chains). We represent the financial network as a hyperstructure and each credit intermediation chain as a hyperedge. This approach allows us to assess how the failure of intermediaries affects network connectivity. We apply this methodology to a unique dataset documenting the network structure of the sterling money market in the year 1906. Our results reveal that the failure of individual money market actors could only cause limited damage to the network as intermediaries were highly substitutable. These findings suggest that an international financial network without highly systemic nodes can emerge even at a time of global economic integration. |
| Keywords: | bills of exchange; financial networks; hypergraphs; hyperstructures; intermediation chains; systemic risk |
| JEL: | D85 E42 F30 G20 N20 |
| Date: | 2023–08–01 |
| URL: | https://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:ehl:lserod:119896 |
| By: | Alexander Bruce; Michael M. Chernousov; Simona Hannon; Marc J. Scott |
| Abstract: | Credit unions provide a significant share—approximately 14 percent—of consumer debt. As of 2025:Q1, consumer credit provided by credit unions was measured at over $716 billion in the G.19 Statistical Release, "Consumer Credit, " a Principal Federal Economic Indicator produced by the Federal Reserve Board. |
| Date: | 2025–07–08 |
| URL: | https://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:fip:fedgfn:2025-07-08-2 |
| By: | Schneider, Eric B. |
| Abstract: | There is strong evidence that exposure to atmospheric pollution is detrimental to health. However, most current and historical research has focussed on the shortrun consequences of exposure to pollution on health, and historical researchers have not been able to assess the effects of pollution on a wide range of health indicators. This paper uses fog events at a daily level as a proxy for acute extreme pollution events in historical London (1892-1919). It tests whether exposure to fog at birth and at the time of sickness influenced a wide range of indicators of child health in the short and long term, including birth outcomes (birth weight, length, stillbirth, premature birth and neonatal death), mortality risk (mortality before age 15), growth outcomes (heights and weights in infancy, childhood and adolescence), and morbidity outcomes (incidence, prevalence and sickness duration from respiratory diseases and measles). Being born on a fog day did not have strong effects on birth or growth outcomes or on morbidity outcomes for upper respiratory diseases. However, being born on a fog day increased mortality risk from respiratory diseases and increased incidence, prevalence and sickness duration from measles, influenza and other lower respiratory diseases. I also find short-run effects of fog on sickness duration from influenza and measles. Overall, the mixed results suggest that atmospheric pollution caused significant ill health in historical London but only for limited dimensions of health. |
| Keywords: | ambient air pollution; morbidity; child growth; respiratory disease; health transition |
| JEL: | N33 I12 Q53 |
| Date: | 2025–06–26 |
| URL: | https://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:ehl:lserod:128850 |
| By: | Sebastian Billows (IRISSO - Institut de Recherche Interdisciplinaire en Sciences Sociales - Université Paris Dauphine-PSL - PSL - Université Paris Sciences et Lettres - CNRS - Centre National de la Recherche Scientifique - INRAE - Institut National de Recherche pour l’Agriculture, l’Alimentation et l’Environnement) |
| Abstract: | C et article explore la transition de la filière laitière en France, depuis l'intervention publique dans les années 1960 jusqu'à sa libéralisation dans les années 2000. À travers l'étude de deux coopératives locales, il montre comment la fin des quotas et la dérégulation ont modifié les rapports de force entre producteurs et transformateurs, favorisant une intensification de la production dans certains cas et une différenciation dans d'autres. Ces changements illustrent l'impact des politiques agricoles sur les pratiques locales et la structure du marché |
| Date: | 2025 |
| URL: | https://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:hal:journl:hal-05128851 |
| By: | Vincent Gobin (IHD - Institut d'histoire du droit Jean Gaudemet - CNRS - Centre National de la Recherche Scientifique - Université Paris-Panthéon-Assas) |
| Abstract: | Prenant la suite d'un premier volet, sous-titré "A la racine du mythe des Deux-cents familles", ce second papier déplace la focale sur l'analyse en confrontant les accusations des détracteurs des politiques d'escompte conduites dans les débuts de la Banque de France, aux répliques formulées par ses tenants. Cette dialectique met en exergue les enjeux d'opportunité du crédit et de sécurité du portefeuille qui mettent en tension les choix d'admission ou de rejet des effets de commerce escomptables. Où faut-il placer le curseur du crédit dispensé par la Banque, entre les précautions rationnelles des financiers et l'exclusion discriminatoire des gens de commerce ? |
| Keywords: | Banque de France, Escompte, Consulat de Bonaparte, Deux cents familles |
| Date: | 2025–07–07 |
| URL: | https://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:hal:journl:hal-05148835 |
| By: | Leonardo Ridolfi; Michelangelo Vasta |
| Abstract: | This paper presents the first long-run homogeneous series of real wages, working days, and skill premiums for building workers in Florence from 1326 to the Italian Unification in 1861. In doing so, we build upon new archival data drawn from the archives of the Opera del Duomo in Florence and the Badia Fiesolana in Fiesole, which span more than 20, 000 wage observations. By combining daily wages with annual working days, we provide a more precise estimate of labor input and living standards, while assessing the impact of the common assumption of 250 working days on real wage calculations. We also reconstruct the long-term evolution of the skill premium, shedding new light on the structure of labour markets in preindustrial Southern Europe. Our findings allow us to revisit the interaction between wages, demographic cycles, and living standards, placing Florence more firmly in both the Italian and international contexts of the Little Divergence debate. |
| Keywords: | Real wages, labour markets, living standards, Little Divergence Jel Classification:N13, N33, N94 |
| Date: | 2025–07 |
| URL: | https://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:usi:wpaper:928 |
| By: | Javed, Umair; Najmi, Muhammad Shahwali; Haroon, Muhammad Hasaan; Ahmed, Hiba |
| Abstract: | Old Lahore traditional markets play a prime place in the city's identity by reflecting the practices and customs over generations. The markets represent far more than a commercial center, since they embody the dynamic interaction of cultural values and historical practice. As Geertz would write, "markets are webs of economic relationships" and are also the depositories of social and cultural values (Geertz). The operations of these markets are characterized by their crude trading practices, the nature of products sold, and the personalized relationships between traders and customers, which have remained relatively unchanged with time. This research is interdisciplinary, combining sociology, anthropology, history, heritage, and economics to analyze the relationship between heritage conservation efforts and the continuity of traditional market practices. |
| Keywords: | Traditional Markets Heritage Conservation Urban Preservation Resistance to Conservation Walled City of Lahore Socio-economic Resilience Informal Economies Walled City of Lahore Authority (WCLA) Old Lahore Azam Market Akbari Mandi Kashmiri Gate Lohari Gate Union Governance Punjab Heritage Bazaar Economy (Clifford Geertz) Political Economy of Bazaars (Keshavarzian) Informal Credit Networks Clientelization Self-regulation Mechanisms Cultural Continuity Heritage vs. Livelihood Conservation-led Displacement Urban Modernization |
| JEL: | Z13 |
| Date: | 2024–12–18 |
| URL: | https://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:pra:mprapa:125337 |
| By: | Olivier Koumba (GRANEM - Groupe de Recherche Angevin en Economie et Management - UA - Université d'Angers - Institut Agro Rennes Angers - Institut Agro - Institut national d'enseignement supérieur pour l'agriculture, l'alimentation et l'environnement) |
| Abstract: | Economics concept expressed by Xenophon, "Management of the family" is too general, and its extension is therefore much broader. According to Aristotle's general rule of the comprehension and extension of the concept: less characters the concept contains, the wider the field in which it is applied. That is why, after Xenophon, all modern economists have each given their extension of economics term. There was therefore no unanimity on the object of study. However, there is no science without an object. This article, through the identification of the object, attempt to unify the definitions of economics concept that seemed to oppose. |
| Keywords: | Xenophon and modern economists, Definition of economics |
| Date: | 2025–05–24 |
| URL: | https://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:hal:journl:hal-05142848 |
| By: | Carolina Vicario (Universidad de la República (Uruguay). Facultad de Ciencias Económicas y de Administración. Instituto de Economía) |
| Abstract: | This article presents an analysis of the level, composition, and distribution of wealth in Montevideo during 1830 and 1860. The study employed probate records from the period in question (n=116) and three population registers of 1836, 1843, and 1858 as its primary sources of data. The combination of these two data sets allowed for a representative analysis of a substantial proportion of the population. The period is distinguished by notable institutional instability, a regional war, and the process of state formation in Latin America. The main findings of this study are: there was a notable decline in wealth levels during the Guerra Grande (the Great War); inequality increased towards the end of the period; and the asset portfolios of Montevideo’s wealthiest individuals diversified in 1858. This study contributes to the existing literature on premodern wealth inequality in Latin America and long-term inequality research. |
| Keywords: | Pre-industrial inequality, Wealth distribution, Latin America, 19th Century |
| JEL: | N36 |
| Date: | 2024–12 |
| URL: | https://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:ulr:wpaper:dt-18-24 |
| By: | Vincent Gobin (IHD - Institut d'histoire du droit Jean Gaudemet - CNRS - Centre National de la Recherche Scientifique - Université Paris-Panthéon-Assas) |
| Abstract: | Entre sélection et favoritisme, cette enquête nourrie par les archives parisiennes de la Banque de France revient sur les critères d'escompte des effets de commerce admis dans le portefeuille de "la vieille Dame de la rue La Vrillière", sous le régime de sa fondation, alors qu'elle n'est encore qu'une société privée (entre 1800 et 1803). Rarement explorées jusqu'alors, les conditions de ces admissions au crédit le moins onéreux de la Place de Paris ont alimenté mythes et fantasmes - de leur époque au XXe siècle - quant à la captation des liquidités bons marchés par les financiers les plus en vue... Quelle fut donc la part de protocoles et de rationalité dans ces opérations aussi opaques que routinières ? |
| Keywords: | Banque de France, Escompte, Crédit, Consulat de Bonaparte, Deux cents familles |
| Date: | 2025–07–07 |
| URL: | https://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:hal:journl:hal-05148792 |
| By: | Devi Vijay (IIM Calcutta); Héloïse Berkowitz (LEST - Laboratoire d'Economie et de Sociologie du Travail - AMU - Aix Marseille Université - CNRS - Centre National de la Recherche Scientifique, AMU - Aix Marseille Université); Benjamin Huybrechts (IÉSEG School Of Management [Puteaux], LEM - Laboratoire d'Economie et de Management - UNS - Université Nice Sophia Antipolis (1965 - 2019) - CNRS - Centre National de la Recherche Scientifique - UniCA - Université Côte d'Azur); Luc Audebrand (ULaval - Université Laval [Québec]); Marcos Barros (EESC-GEM Grenoble Ecole de Management); Marianna Fotaki (WBS - Warwick Business School - University of Warwick [Coventry]) |
| Abstract: | Amidst multiple crises on a planetary scale, alternative organizing offers plural possibilities for reconfiguring societal relations and bringing into being a more liveable world. Despite growing interest, the literature on alternative organizing remains fragmented, marked by a narrow and selective integration of disciplinary and geographic knowledge communities.This fragmentation leads to ambiguities and contradictions in concepts and theory development. To address these issues, we review 50 years of research on alternative organizing, following three steps. First, we map the genealogy of research on alternative organizing, identify its relations with institutional orders, and distinguish key perspectives.Second, we develop an integrative framework that (a) identifies three constitutive dimensions of alternative organizingimaginaries, alterity, and subjectivities; and (b) synthesizes the processes, frictions, and outcomes for societal transformation. Drawing on this framework, we suggest avenues to attune to the ways alternative organizing unsettles dominant orders and cultivates the present and future, other-wise. |
| Keywords: | Alternative organizing, Alternative organization, Imaginaries, alterity, Subjectivity, Friction, Societal transformation, Social order, Institutional order, institutions, Prefiguration |
| Date: | 2025–07–15 |
| URL: | https://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:hal:gemwpa:hal-05132352 |
| By: | Roelen, Keetie; Lambin, Roosa; Bado, Arsène Brice; de Carvalho, Thaís; Chukwuma, Julia Ngozi; Deane, Kevin; Muangi, Winnie C. |
| Abstract: | The historical influence of colonial powers and the continued, deep-rooted engagement of international development actors in shaping social protection systems is widely recognised across academic and policy arenas. Nevertheless, evidence of the role of coloniality in social protection remains limited. This Discussion Paper explores the enduring impact of colonialism on contemporary social protection systems by considering the role of coloniality in social protection in the Global South, and Africa in particular. It does so by employing a three-fold methodology, namely (i) an examination of empirical and theoretical literature, including scholarship on coloniality, policy transfers and political settlements in the realm of social protection, among other topics; (ii) semi-structured interviews with international and regional stakeholders from academia, civil society and international organisations; and (iii) country case studies in Côte d'Ivoire and Tanzania. The paper proposes a "social protection and coloniality" analytical framework to allow for analysing and unpacking the role of coloniality in social protection. It zooms in on three key components through which coloniality in social protection is manifested, resisted or countered: (i) colonial legacies, (ii) postcolonial influences and (iii) domestic political economy factors. This framework provides a novel lens to examine historical path dependencies and pathways that have shaped and continue to influence contemporary social protection systems in the Global South. It enables the identification of context- and country-specific issues, bringing them to the forefront while emphasising enduring colonial footprints and their interplay with domestic factors. Findings suggest that colonial legacies and postcolonial influences continue to shape social protection across Africa, as moderated by domestic political economy factors. It advocates for more equitable partnerships and critical reflection among international actors. The paper also calls for stronger integration of local knowledge to support country-driven social protection frameworks. By addressing these challenges and promoting context-specific solutions, it is possible to develop social protection systems that are more home-grown and less reliant upon external influences. |
| Keywords: | Africa, social scurity, international development cooperation |
| Date: | 2025 |
| URL: | https://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:zbw:diedps:321873 |
| By: | Philippe Goulet Coulombe; Karin Klieber |
| Abstract: | Local projections (LPs) are widely used in empirical macroeconomics to estimate impulse responses to policy interventions. Yet, in many ways, they are black boxes. It is often unclear what mechanism or historical episodes drive a particular estimate. We introduce a new decomposition of LP estimates into the sum of contributions of historical events, which is the product, for each time stamp, of a weight and the realization of the response variable. In the least squares case, we show that these weights admit two interpretations. First, they represent purified and standardized shocks. Second, they serve as proximity scores between the projected policy intervention and past interventions in the sample. Notably, this second interpretation extends naturally to machine learning methods, many of which yield impulse responses that, while nonlinear in predictors, still aggregate past outcomes linearly via proximity-based weights. Applying this framework to shocks in monetary and fiscal policy, global temperature, and the excess bond premium, we find that easily identifiable events-such as Nixon's interference with the Fed, stagflation, World War II, and the Mount Agung volcanic eruption-emerge as dominant drivers of often heavily concentrated impulse response estimates. |
| Date: | 2025–05 |
| URL: | https://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:arx:papers:2505.12422 |
| By: | Christophe Darmangeat (LADYSS - Laboratoire Dynamiques Sociales et Recomposition des Espaces - UP1 - Université Paris 1 Panthéon-Sorbonne - UP8 - Université Paris 8 Vincennes-Saint-Denis - UPN - Université Paris Nanterre - UPD7 - Université Paris Diderot - Paris 7 - CNRS - Centre National de la Recherche Scientifique, TRACES - Travaux et recherches archéologiques sur les cultures, les espaces et les sociétés - EHESS - École des hautes études en sciences sociales - UT2J - Université Toulouse - Jean Jaurès - UT - Université de Toulouse - MCC - Ministère de la Culture et de la Communication - Inrap - Institut national de recherches archéologiques préventives - CNRS - Centre National de la Recherche Scientifique) |
| Abstract: | The division of labour is a major dimension of human society, intimately linked to advances in technology and productivity. However, the ways and mechanisms of its emergence remain the subject of much debate. After returning to some of the basic issues of definition, we will review the state of our knowledge of its oldest form, that based on gender, which has recently attracted renewed interest. After briefly mentioning the questions that remain as to the nature of the first activities concerned, we will finally criticise the standard theory, which since the eighteenth century has seen the presence of a "surplus" as a necessary and sufficient condition for the existence of a specialised craft. An alternative line of reasoning will be suggested, which places the key variable not in food productivity, but in the size of social units. |
| Abstract: | la division du travail constitue une dimension majeure des sociétés humaines, intimement liée aux progrès de leur technique et de leur productivité. Les voies et les mécanismes de son émergence restent cependant l'objet de nombreuses interrogations. Après être revenu sur quelques questions essentielles de définitions, on reviendra sur l'état des connaissances en ce qui concerne sa plus ancienne forme, celle qui s'opère selon le sexe, qui a récemment suscité un intérêt renouvelé. Après avoir rapidement évoqué les interrogations qui subsistent sur la nature des premières activités à avoir été concernées, on questionnera enfin la théorie standard, qui, depuis le xviii e siècle, voit dans la présence d'un « surplus » la condition nécessaire et suffisante de l'existence d'un artisanat spécialisé. On suggèrera un raisonnement alternatif, qui situe la variable-clé non dans la productivité alimentaire, mais dans la taille des unités sociales. |
| Keywords: | Division of labour, Surplus, Specialisation, expertise, Craftsmanship, Division du travail, spécialisation, artisanat, division du travail |
| Date: | 2023–10–11 |
| URL: | https://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:hal:journl:hal-04857081 |
| By: | Vincent Gobin (IHD - Institut d'histoire du droit Jean Gaudemet - CNRS - Centre National de la Recherche Scientifique - Université Paris-Panthéon-Assas) |
| Keywords: | Crypto-actifs, Cryptomonnaies, Monnaies digitales |
| Date: | 2025–07–11 |
| URL: | https://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:hal:journl:hal-05158065 |
| By: | Yeonha Jung; Gedeon Lim; Sangyoon Park |
| Abstract: | This study examines the economic legacy of civilian killings during the Korean War, which disproportionately targeted local elites, educated individuals, and their families. For identification, we exploit plausibly exogenous variation in the spatial distribution of killings driven by unanticipated UN military operations. Evidence suggests that local exposure to civilian killings had a persistently negative impact on contemporary development. As a key mechanism, we find that civilian killings led to a relative decline in structural transformation, potentially due to reduced investments in human capital. |
| Keywords: | civilian killings, Korean War, long-run development, structural transformation |
| JEL: | D74 O14 N15 |
| Date: | 2025 |
| URL: | https://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:ces:ceswps:_11974 |
| By: | Bonet-Morón, Jaime; Parra-Solano, Andrés Felipe |
| Abstract: | La Matuna es un área situada en el corazón del casco histórico de Cartagena, entre El Centro, San Diego y Getsemaní, lo cual la convierte en una zona de especial interés para la ciudad. A pesar de su localización y algunas construcciones que se dieron a finales del siglo XIX y comienzos del XX, la urbanización es relativamente reciente pues inició formalmente en 1952. Este documento describe el desarrollo urbano que tuvo La Matuna en Cartagena entre 1890 y 2022, explicando los cambios ocurridos y los principales factores que influyeron en su evolución. Los resultados muestran que el proceso de urbanización de La Matuna parece estar asociado a dos aspectos fundamentales de la ciudad: (i) los cambios económicos y sociales; y (ii) la evolución de la planificación urbana. Por un lado, los auges y declives económicos determinaron la demanda por suelo urbano a lo largo del periodo analizado. Además, los planes de urbanismo también afectaron la dinámica de urbanización del sector por los estímulos establecidos en las normas urbanas definidas en los años de estudio para los distintos sectores de la ciudad. |
| Keywords: | Cartagena de Indias, La Matuna, Centro Histórico |
| JEL: | N96 R11 R14 |
| Date: | 2025–07 |
| URL: | https://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:rie:riecdt:115 |
| By: | Schneider, Eric B.; Davenport, Romola |
| Abstract: | This paper uses population smallpox mortality rates in eighteenth-century Sweden and the death toll from the 1707-9 smallpox epidemic in Iceland to estimate plausible ranges for the case fatality rate (CFR) of the deadly form of smallpox, Variola major, in both its endemic (Sweden) and epidemic (Iceland) form. We find that smallpox CFRs could be extremely high (40-53%) when smallpox was epidemic and attacked a population where both children and adults were susceptible as in Iceland. However, where smallpox was endemic and therefore a disease of childhood, as in Sweden, a better estimate of the CFR is 8-10%. This is far lower than the consensus CFR of 20% to 30%. Part of the differences between the CFRs studied here could be due to differences in the inherent virulence of smallpox in the two contexts. However, we argue that social factors are more likely to explain the differences. Where both adults and children were susceptible to smallpox, smallpox epidemics fundamentally disrupted household tasks such as fetching water and food preparation and prevented parents from nursing their sick children, dramatically increasing the CFR. Thus, when historians and epidemiologists give CFRs of smallpox, they should consider the population and context rather than relying on an implausible intrinsic CFR of 20% to 30%. |
| Keywords: | smallpox; epidemics; case fertility rate; historical demography |
| JEL: | N30 J10 |
| Date: | 2025–05–11 |
| URL: | https://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:ehl:lserod:128854 |
| By: | Klein, Lisa; Lersch, Philipp M. (Humboldt-Universität zu Berlin); Longmuir, Max |
| Abstract: | The role of demographic change for wealth inequality remains underexplored. This study analyzes how shifts in population aging, immigration, partnership status, educational attainment, and female labor force participation influenced wealth inequality in West Germany between 1988 and 2017, focusing on households with children. Our findings reveal that while overall wealth inequality remained stable, this masks diverging trends across household types and conceals how significant demographic shifts within the overall population, and particularly among households with children, contributed to contrasting inequality trends. Increased immigration and changes in partnership status were associated with rising inequality; however, these effects were offset entirely by the inequality-reducing impact of population aging, educational expansion and rising female labor force participation. The study highlights the importance of these demographic changes for understanding trends in wealth inequality and shows that aggregated measures of inequality may mask countervailing effects of demographic shifts among population subgroups. (Stone Center on Socio-Economic Inequality Working Paper) |
| Date: | 2025–06–27 |
| URL: | https://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:osf:socarx:jh5xp_v1 |