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on Business, Economic and Financial History |
| By: | Brian Marein (Wake Forest University Department of Economics) |
| Abstract: | Recent studies document persistent racial wealth inequality in the United States, often attributing modern disparities to historical differences. But inferring the determinants of long-run racial wealth inequality with aggregated data is complicated by the fact that 30 million European immigrants arrived in the late 19th and early 20th centuries with no direct claim to the wealth accumulated by earlier generations of Americans. Drawing on government data, I find that immigrants arrived with few assets, far behind the native-born population. Yet survey evidence reveals that by the late 20th century, their descendants achieved wealth parity with earlier arriving white ethnic groups. Using a stylized model, I show that this rapid convergence can be explained mostly by immigrants' income growth and plausibly higher savings rates. These findings indicate that initial differences in wealth matter less for long-run outcomes than previously suggested. The results also underscore the central role of race in shaping inequality, consistent with faster economic convergence within than across racial groups. |
| Keywords: | wealth inequality; intergenerational wealth transmission; immigration |
| JEL: | D31 J15 N11 N12 |
| Date: | 2026–01–22 |
| URL: | https://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:ris:wfuewp:022126 |
| By: | Anna Bindler (DIW Berlin, University of Potsdam, Berlin School of Economics, CEPA); Randi Hjalmarsson (University of Gothenburg, CEPR); Stephen Machin (London School of Economics, CEP); Melissa Rubio-Ramos (University of Cologne) |
| Abstract: | This paper studies how and why anti-Irish sentiment in 19th century England spills over onto jury decisions at London’s Old Bailey Central Criminal Court. We classify the (perceived) ethnicity of courtroom participants according to whether they have distinctly Irish or English surnames based on place of birth in the 1881 census. Irish-named defendants have significantly worse outcomes: juries are 3% more likely to convict Irish-named defendants and 16% less likely to recommend mercy in sentencing. Sentencing gaps are larger for violent crimes and robust to different classifications of surname Irishness, as well as to the inclusion of case and defendant controls. We argue that these findings are unlikely to be driven by correlated unobservable case or trial characteristics (like defense quality). Rather, we provide two pieces of evidence consistent with the gaps being driven by animus towards those perceived to be Irish. First, taking advantage of exogenous variation in expected punishment driven by the abolition of capital punishment, we show that juries react differentially to shifts in extraneous factors when the defendant is Irish- versus English-named. Second, these gaps are not limited to Irish-named defendants but also seen for other courtroom participants – namely Irish-named victims. Finally, we trace out the longer run evolution of these gaps throughout the 1800s: they first emerge during the capital punishment reform period, widen during the mid-century Irish Potato Famine induced migration to London, and thereafter remain primarily stable. |
| Keywords: | Irish, crime, criminal law, discrimination, economic history |
| JEL: | K42 K14 J15 N33 N93 |
| Date: | 2026–01 |
| URL: | https://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:pot:cepadp:97 |
| By: | Noriyuki Yanagawa (The University of Tokyo); Chiho Kaide |
| Abstract: | This paper presents a case study of a family business, focusing on Toshimaya Honten, which was founded in 1596. Throughout its history spanning over 400 years, the company has faced three major management crises. In light of these experiences, the company prioritizes long-term development built on trust over short-term profits, maintaining a management style that strictly adheres to its core business of sake brewing. This case serves as a prominent example illustrating the survival mechanisms and characteristics of long-established enterprises. |
| Date: | 2026–01 |
| URL: | https://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:cfi:jseres:cj122 |
| By: | Ganzer, Andreas (Institute for Employment Research (IAB), Nuremberg, Germany); Schmucker, Alexandra (Institute for Employment Research (IAB), Nuremberg, Germany); Wolter, Stefanie (Institute for Employment Research (IAB), Nuremberg, Germany) |
| Abstract: | "The Establishment History Panel (BHP) is composed of cross sectional datasets since 1975 for West Germany and 1992 for East Germany. Every cross section contains all the establishments in Germany which are covered by the IAB Employment History (BeH) on June 30th. These are all establishments with at least one employee liable to social security on the reference date. Establishments with no employee liable to social security but with at least one marginal part-time employee are included since 1999. The cross sections can be combined to form a panel. This data report describes the Establishment-History-Panel (BHP) 1975-2024." (Author's abstract, IAB-Doku) ((en)) |
| Keywords: | IAB-Betriebs-Historik-Panel ; 10.5164/IAB.BHP7524.de.en.v1 |
| Date: | 2025–12–15 |
| URL: | https://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:iab:iabfda:202513(de) |
| By: | Cardoso, Eliana A. |
| Keywords: | Financial Economics, International Relations/Trade |
| URL: | https://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:ags:cladsp:263625 |
| By: | Noriyuki Yanagawa (Faculty of Economics, University of Tokyo); Chiho Kaide |
| Abstract: | This paper presents a case study of a family business, focusing on Hattori Kogyo Co., Ltd., a long-established enterprise founded in 1885 in Okazaki City, Aichi Prefecture. Throughout its history of over 130 years, the company has transformed its business in response to changing times. The defining characteristic of this case is "parallel business succession, " wherein the predecessor continues to manage a portion of the business operations while the young successor actively expands into new ventures. This case offers valuable insights for examining the diversity of business transformation and succession. |
| Date: | 2026–01 |
| URL: | https://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:cfi:jseres:cj121 |
| By: | Gavin Cook |
| Abstract: | There is a science of science and an informal economics of economics, but there is not a cohesive sociology of sociology. We turn the central findings and theoretical lenses of the sociological tradition and the sociological study of stratification inward on sociology itself to investigate how sociology has changed since the 1970s. We link two bibliometric databases to trace diachronic relationships between PhD training and publication outcomes, both of which are understudied in the science of science and sociology of science. All of sociology's top 3 journals remained biased against alum of less prestigious PhD programs, and while most forms of bias in elite sociological publishing have ameliorated over time, the house bias of the American Journal of Sociology in favor PhD alumnae of UChicago has intensified. |
| Date: | 2026–01 |
| URL: | https://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:arx:papers:2601.04579 |
| By: | François Lerouxel (AOROC - Archéologie et Philologie d'Orient et d'Occident - EPHE - École Pratique des Hautes Études - PSL - Université Paris Sciences et Lettres - CNRS - Centre National de la Recherche Scientifique - DSA ENS-PSL - Département des Sciences de l'Antiquité - ENS-PSL - ENS-PSL - École normale supérieure - Paris - PSL - Université Paris Sciences et Lettres) |
| Abstract: | This article is devoted to the material and human devices used by individuals, often wealthy, to preserve their movable wealth in Rome and Italy at the end of the Republic and under the Principate (1st century BC- 3rd century AD). It covers safes in private homes and storage rooms, which may be located inside or outside the home. These material devices work all the better to conserve wealth if they are accompanied by human resources. |
| Abstract: | Cet article est consacré aux dispositifs matériels et humains utilisés par les particuliers, souvent aisés, pour conserver leurs richesses mobilières à Rome et en Italie à la fin de la République et sous le Haut-Empire (ier s. avant J.-C.-iiie s. après J.-C.). Il traite des coffres-forts au domicile des particuliers et des entrepôts, qui peuvent être situés à l'intérieur ou à l'extérieur du domicile. Ces dispositifs matériels fonctionnent d'autant mieux pour conserver les richesses qu'ils sont accompagnés de moyens humains. |
| Keywords: | movable wealth, Roman Italy (1st c. BCE-3rd c. CE), safe, warehouse, private banking, richesses mobilières, Italie romaine (ier s. av. J.-C.-iiie s. ap. J.-C.), coffre-fort, entrepôt, banque privée |
| Date: | 2025 |
| URL: | https://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:hal:journl:hal-05458532 |
| By: | Ling, Kai; Won, Sunjae |
| Keywords: | Environmental Economics and Policy |
| Date: | 2025 |
| URL: | https://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:ags:aaea25:360793 |
| By: | Leonardo Bursztyn; Ewan Rawcliffe; Hans-Joachim Voth |
| Abstract: | We study the ability of a firm to elicit repeated effort from workers by creating a “rat race” of hierarchical status-based incentives. We examine performance using data on over 5, 000 German air force pilots during World War II. Pilots’ effort is hard to monitor; motivation is key to success. Fighter pilot performance increases markedly as they approach eligibility for a medal before falling off upon receipt of the award. The same effort path repeats itself as the pilot nears the next higher-prestige medal. Status-conscious pilots also exert more effort when new medals are introduced. We show that medals serve as substitutes for other forms of status. Medal cachet declines over time as lower-ability pilots receive them, making the introduction of new medals desirable. These results suggest that a tiered, expanding system of status-based incentives can repeatedly leverage worker status concerns to extract effort. |
| JEL: | D22 D91 M52 N44 |
| Date: | 2026–01 |
| URL: | https://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:nbr:nberwo:34707 |
| By: | Anthony Tassa (American University of Sharjah, Sharjah, United Arab Emirates) |
| Abstract: | This paper explores the techniques and devices implemented in restaging and re-imagining The Tragical History of Doctor Faustus by Christopher Marlowe. At the American University of Sharjah in spring of 2024, a production was mounted that sought to re-explore the classic tragedy in a new and significant manner. Utilizing radical avant-garde movement techniques, dance, and colloquial speech, the play was brought to life for an audience previously unaware of the tragedy’s existence, or if aware, never having viewed it on stage. In some cases, a balance, or dynamic play between iambic pentameter and colloquial language was utilized. The goal of the production was to reinvent the piece for the modern audience, while remaining faithful to the playwright’s thematic intentions. By selectively examining pieces of key adapted text used in this radical approach to the staging of the four-hundred-year-old masterpiece, now simply entitled Faustus, it will be determined whether or not the director’s conceptualization adhered to the original thematic intent of the playwright. |
| Keywords: | Devising, Drama, Elizabethan, Theatre, Tragedy |
| Date: | 2025–11 |
| URL: | https://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:smo:raiswp:0609 |
| By: | Wynne, A. J. |
| Keywords: | Agricultural and Food Policy, Livestock Production/Industries |
| URL: | https://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:ags:notarc:266999 |
| By: | Nenovsky, Nikolay; Marinova, Tsvetelina |
| Abstract: | Between 1958 and 1971 (until the adoption of the Comecon's Comprehensive Programme), active work was carried out on models for complete separation from world (capitalist) market prices. Bulgarian economists were particularly active in this regard, and their position was also expressed politically, which gives us reason to examine their proposals in particular. To this end, the present text sequentially examines several debated methodological issues related to pricing (within the framework of the Marxian labour theory of value, particularly in the work of Jacques Aroyo), selected ideas of Bulgarian economists on practical pricing (again Jacques Aroyo and Evgeni Mateev), the Tsvetkov–Golubarev approach, as well as Stefan Stoilov’s analyses of the potential effects of a transition to an independent pricing basis. |
| Keywords: | Socialist integration, international prices, prices formation, Comecon, Bulgarian economists |
| JEL: | B22 B24 F50 N14 P33 |
| Date: | 2026–01–09 |
| URL: | https://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:pra:mprapa:127666 |
| By: | Lerner, Abba P. |
| Keywords: | Financial Economics |
| URL: | https://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:ags:cladsp:262898 |
| By: | Yueran Ma; Mengdi Zhang; Kaspar Zimmermann |
| Abstract: | We collect new data to document the long-run evolution of the firm size distribution in ten market-based economies in Asia, Europe, North America, and Oceania, where we can obtain comprehensive coverage of the population of firms. Around the world, we observe prevalent increases in the concentration of sales, net income, and equity capital over the past century. These trends hold in the aggregate and at the industry level. Meanwhile, employment concentration has been stable over the long run in most cases. The evidence shows that the rising dominance of large firms is a pervasive phenomenon, not limited to the recent decades or the United States, and that large firms often achieve greater scale without proportionally more workers. |
| JEL: | E01 L1 N1 |
| Date: | 2026–01 |
| URL: | https://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:nbr:nberwo:34711 |
| By: | Behrens, Catherina (Humboldt-Universität zu Berlin and RFBerlin); Hansch, Michelle (Humboldt-Universität zu Berlin and RFBerlin); Nimczik, Jan Sebastian (ESMT Berlin, RFBerlin, IAB, and IZA); Spitz-Oener, Alexandra (Institute for Employment Research (IAB), Nuremberg, Germany) |
| Abstract: | "This report documents the harmonization of occupational and regional variables between two ad-ministrative datasets: the Data Fund of Societal Work Power (GAV) of the German Democratic Re-public (GDR) and the Integrated Employment Biographies (IEB) of the Federal Republic of Ger-many. The linkage combines demographic and labor market data from 1989 with employment his-tories post-1992, enabling analysis of East German labor market trajectories around reunification. Occupational harmonization follows a two-step process, converting detailed GDR codes into the standardized 2010 and 1988 classification systems. Regional harmonization employs both manual mapping and modern geospatial techniques to align 1989 GDR locations with 2014 county bound-aries. The high match rate and robust validation ensure that the resulting harmonized dataset is a reliable resource for longitudinal labor market research." (Author's abstract, IAB-Doku) ((en)) |
| Keywords: | 10.5164/IAB.GAV-ADIAB7519.de.en.v2 |
| Date: | 2025–12–18 |
| URL: | https://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:iab:iabfme:202510(en) |
| By: | Gianmaria Brunazzi; Cristina Re |
| Abstract: | This paper argues that the current proliferation of commercial tensions, monetary conflicts and military confrontations is not an irrational departure from economic logic, but the manifestation of a structural transformation of the world economy. We develop a model of debt imperialism in which the centre sustains its dominance by issuing internationally demanded liabilities that enable persistent external deficits and reinforce dependence on the dollar and on the centre’s market, while simultaneously favouring the industrial expansion of semi-peripheral economies. As these economies grow, they become potential challengers whose trajectories must be actively managed and periodically disciplined in order to preserve the hierarchy of the system. The paper confronts this framework with a wide set of international data (World Bank, IMF, UNCTAD, US Treasury and BEA). We analyse global balance-of-payments indicators from 1975 to 2023 and then examine the evolution of the United States’ trade creditors and the geography and composition of foreign holdings of its external liabilities. The results identify two distinct phases: a pre-2008 hegemonic phase characterised by relatively smooth surplus recycling into the centre, and a post-2008 phase marked by growing volatility, the fragmentation of the integrated world market, the reconfiguration of trade and financial circuits, and the decline of the previous globalisation regime. This analysis shows that the fragmentation of the global economy after 2008 has not resulted from a collapse of U.S. centrality, but from a defensive reorganisation of trade, financial and geopolitical relations aimed at disciplining both allies and semi-peripheral challengers |
| Keywords: | Debt imperialism; US Dollar Hegemony; Semi-periphery; Financial Crisis; Trade War. Jel Classification: F51; F54; N10 |
| Date: | 2026–01 |
| URL: | https://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:usi:wpaper:938 |
| By: | Schwalbe, Ulrich; Walker, Paul |
| Abstract: | In the modern literature on game theory there are several versions of what is known as Zermelo's theorem. It is shown that most of these modern statements of Zermelo's theorem bear only a partial relationship to what Zermelo really did. We also give a short survey and discussion of the closely related but almost unknown work by Konig and Kalmar. Their papers extend and considerably generalize Zermelo's approach. A translation of Zermelo's paper is included in the appendix. |
| Keywords: | Research Methods/Statistical Methods |
| URL: | https://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:ags:canzdp:263784 |
| By: | Sebastian Galiani; Ramiro H. Gálvez; Franco Mettola La Giglia; Raul A. Sosa |
| Abstract: | We measure how frontier research frames what is normatively at stake along the efficiency and equity dimension. We develop and validate an LLM-based measurement pipeline and apply it to 27, 464 full-text journal articles from 1950 to 2021. Efficiency focused framing rises through the late 1980s, then declines as equity related framing expands after 1990, especially in applied work and policy evaluations. By 2021, papers with an equity component are about as common as papers framed purely around efficiency. President transmittal letters in the Economic Report of the President show a similar post 1990 shift toward equity, providing an external benchmark. |
| JEL: | A14 B2 C8 |
| Date: | 2026–01 |
| URL: | https://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:nbr:nberwo:34714 |
| By: | Sergio Correia; Stephan Luck; Emil Verner |
| Abstract: | We study the causes and consequences of bank runs using a novel dataset on bank runs in the United States from 1863 to 1934. Applying natural language processing to historical newspapers, we identify 4, 049 runs on individual banks. Runs are considerably more likely in weak banks but also occur in strong banks, especially in response to negative news about the real economy or the broader banking system. However, runs typically only result in failure for banks with weak fundamentals. Strong banks survive runs through various mechanisms, including interbank cooperation, equity injections, public signals of strength, and suspension of convertibility. At the local level, bank failures (with and without runs) translate into substantially larger declines in deposits and lending than runs without failures. Our findings suggest that poor bank fundamentals are necessary for bank runs to translate into failure and for bank distress to generate severe economic consequences. |
| Date: | 2026–01 |
| URL: | https://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:arx:papers:2601.20285 |
| By: | Noriyuki Yanagawa (The University of Tokyo); Chiho Kaide |
| Abstract: | This paper presents a case study of a family business, focusing on Ohga Pharmacy Co., Ltd., which boasts a history of 123 years. Operating under the belief that "maintaining the status quo is regression, " the company has actively transformed its business to adapt to changing times. This includes unique initiatives, such as the current president himself performing as the character "Ohgaman." This case offers valuable insights into a community-based family business that resolves social issues while simultaneously increasing corporate profitability, thereby contributing to regional revitalization. |
| Date: | 2026–01 |
| URL: | https://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:cfi:jseres:cj124 |
| By: | Mejer, E. |
| Keywords: | Agricultural and Food Policy, Labor and Human Capital |
| URL: | https://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:ags:notarc:266995 |
| By: | Nikos Papadakis (University of Crete, Department of Political Science, Rethymnon, Greece) |
| Abstract: | The paper aims to analyze the long process of the Europeanization of the Education and Training Policy, since 1995, following the publication of the European Commissions’ White Paper entitled “Teaching and Learning: Towards the Learning Society.†After briefly sketching the historical background, considering that prior to 1992 the EC had no legislative power in education, the paper focuses on the development of the European education policy within the EU Lisbon Strategy (20002010). It emphasizes the political agenda underpinning “Ε Τ2010†Work Programme of the Lisbon Strategy, while also shedding light on the gradual over-determination of the European education policy by the Macro-economic Agenda, during that decade. The paper further proceeds in analyzing the EU policy on education and training within the framework of the EU2020 Strategy (2010-2020), as well as in the context of the interconnection between policy tools (within the OMC) and the political content (as mainly embedded in the benchmarks and the key indicators) of the EU education policy with the transformations in the labour market and the financial crisis repercussions. Last but not least, the ongoing developments and the new benchmarks and policy priorities of the strategic framework for the European cooperation in Education and Training towards the European Education Area and beyond (2021-2030) are also examined, considering the impact of the Permacrisis and the Mega-Trends. The paper concludes with a critical review of the whole process of the Europeanization of the Education and Training Policy, as well as of its evolving relation to the public policy complex. |
| Keywords: | Education Training Policy, Europeanization, Lisbon Strategy, EU2020 Strategy, European Education Area, Permacrisis, Labour market, Macro-economic Agenda, Public Policy Complex |
| Date: | 2025–11 |
| URL: | https://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:smo:raiswp:0598 |
| By: | Huaide Chen; Hailiang Yang |
| Abstract: | We compiled the first high-frequency rice price panel for Taiwan from August 1945 to March 1947, during the transition from Japanese rule to China rule. Using regression models, we found that the pattern of rice price changes could be divided into four stages, each with distinct characteristics. Based on different stages, we combined the policies formulated by the Taiwan government at the time to demonstrate the correlation between rice prices and policies. The research results highlight the dominant role of policy systems in post-war food crises. |
| Date: | 2025–12 |
| URL: | https://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:arx:papers:2512.07492 |