The empirical literature on economic growth and development has moved from the study of
proximate determinants to the analysis of ever deeper, more fundamental factors, rooted in …

This chapter reviews the recent debate about the role of social capital in economics. We
argue that all the difficulties this concept has encountered in economics are due to a vague …

Humans are a puzzling species. On the one hand, we struggle to survive on our own in the
wild, often failing to overcome even basic challenges, like obtaining food, building shelters …

We examine gender differences in financial literacy among high school students in Italy
using data from the 2012 Programme for International Student Assessment (PISA). Gender …

A growing body of empirical work measuring different types of cultural traits has shown that
culture matters for a variety of economic outcomes. This paper focuses on one specific …

Civic honesty is essential to social capital and economic development but is often in conflict
with material self-interest. We examine the trade-off between honesty and self-interest using …

The study examines the historical origins of existing cross-cultural differences in beliefs and
values regarding the appropriate role of women in society. We test the hypothesis that …

The central question in taxation and development is:“how does a government go from
raising around 10% of GDP in taxes to raising around 40%?” This paper looks at the …

Throughout the world people differ in the magnitude with which they value strong family ties
or heightened religiosity. We propose that this cross-cultural variation is a result of a …

This paper discusses what determines the preferences of individuals for redistribution. We
review the theoretical literature and provide a framework to incorporate various effects …