Political economy

Urbanization and the Change in Political Elites

This study argues that urbanization changed the relationship between the occupation of candidates running in parliamentary elections and their electoral success. To identify local-level variation in urbanization, we leverage exogenous changes to the …

Caught in the Crossfire: World War I and the Extension of Women’s Suffrage in France

In 1925, of the 22 countries that could be classified as democracies, only four —France, Belgium, Portugal and Switzerland— had yet to extend suffrage to women. France is an intriguing exception: as a co-belligerent in WWI, the country experienced …

No Better Time Than Now. Future Uncertainty and Private Investment Under Dictatorship

Noisy signaling model that highlights how uncertainty about the type of potential autocratic successors might paradoxically provide incentives for elite investment.

Unlikely Democrats. Economic Elite Uncertainty under Dictatorship and Support for Democratization

Noisy signaling model that highlights how uncertainty about the type of potential autocratic successors might induce economic elites to support a democratic transition.

Do Female/Male Distinctions in Language Matter? Evidence from Gender Political Quotas

The pervasiveness of gender distinctions in grammar is strongly correlated with the adoption of political gender quotas.

The Grammatical Origins of Gender Roles

Women speaking languages that more pervasively mark gender distinctions are less likely to participate in economic and political life, and more likely to encounter barriers in their access to land and credit.