Sotiris Kampanelis
Mobile phone Number: (+30) 6978265558
Email: KampanelisS@cardiff.ac.uk
Webpage: https://www.cardiff.ac.uk/people/view/1751419-kampanelis-sotirios
CURRENT POSITION
2020-ONWARDS Lecturer (Assistant Professor) in Economics, Cardiff Business School, UK
EDUCATION:
2016-2019:
Ph.D. in Economics, University of St Andrews, Scotland, UK
Dissertation: “Essays on the Institutional and Financial Foundations of Local Economic Development, Mobility, and Growth.”
Committee: Daniel Oto-Peralias, John O.S Wilson, Dimitris Chronopoulos
2013-2015:
M.Phil. in Economics, National and Kapodistrian University of Athens, Athens, Greece
2008-2012:
B.Sc. in Economics and Regional Development, Panteion University, Athens, Greece
RESEARCH INTERESTS:
Primary: Applied Macroeconomics, Economic History, Economic Development, Economic Geography.
Secondary: Financial Economics
PUBLICATIONS AND ARTICLES UNDER REVIEW:
Kampanelis, S., (2019), It's Time for Westernization: The Advantages of the Early Start for Long-Term Economic Development at the Local Level, Oxford Economic Papers
This article examines the ‘early start’ hypothesis at the local level in the context of Australian colonization. It is found that the longer a place experiences economic activity under European management, the higher the level of economic development it achieves in the long-run. A theoretical framework is proposed under which a set of dynamic forces work in aggregate and enhance urban economic development. Results from several robustness checks that account for an array of possible biases validate the initial findings. Overall, the nature of Australian colonization reflects a relatively random variation in the duration of the Western presence at the local level, causing uneven urban development.
Chronopoulos, D.K.; Kampanelis, S.; Oto‐Peralías, D.; Wilson, J.O.S., (2021) Ancient Colonialism and the Economic Geography of the Mediterranean., Journal of Economic Geography
This article investigates the legacy of ancient Phoenician, Greek and Etruscan colonialism in shaping the economic geography of the Mediterranean region. Utilising historical data on ancient colonies and current data on population density and night light emissions (as a proxy for economic activity), we find that geographical areas colonised by these ancient civilisations have higher population density and economic activity in the present day. We also find that ancient colonialism affected the origin and evolution of the urban system of cities and settlements prevalent in the Mediterranean region
WORKING PAPERS AND WORK IN PROGRESS:
How Local Knowledge Fuelled Colonial Settlement and Long-Run Economic Activity: Evidence from Australia (with Aldo Elizalde and Yannis M. Ioannides)
This paper examines the long-term economic impacts of the adoption of local knowledge during European colonisation. We use the case of Australia, where Aboriginal knowledge of the landscape was integral to colonial exploration and settlement. To quantify the effects of this knowledge, we construct a newly digitised and georeferenced dataset of trade routes created by Aboriginal people based on oral traditions. Our results indicate that pre-colonial trade routes are strongly associated with current economic activity as measured by nighttime satellite imagery. We attribute this association to path dependence and agglomeration effects that emanate from the transport infrastructure built by Europeans roughly along the Aboriginal routes, which have concentrated economic activity.
The Effect of Historical Public Crime on Intergenerational Mobility of Blacks: Evidence from Lynching Activity in the US South (with Aldo Elizalde) (submitted).
How crime in public view against minorities can form their long-run economic opportunities? This paper examines the long-term effects of historical public crime, namely lynching, against Black offenders in the United States during the 19th and 20th centuries on current local rates of intergenerational mobility of Black people. I suggest that the idea of lynching against Blacks was disseminated across people in the South-Eastern States, thus following the railway expansion along with population movement. I find that higher historical lynching activity exerts a negative effect on the current economic opportunities of Blacks. The results do not hold for Whites, Hispanics, Asians, and Native Americans and are valid to a large set of robustness checks. Moreover, I provide suggestive evidence that long-run effects of lynching activity worked through persistent prejudice, racism, and hate against Black individuals.
Finance and Intergenerational Mobility: Evidence from US Banking Reforms (with Dimitris K. Chronopoulos & John O. S. Wilson) (submitted).
We investigate the impact of US banking industry deregulation on intergenerational mobility at the local level. In order to do so, we use a quasi-natural experimental research design to investigate how a change in state-level bank competition (which followed the passage of the US Interstate Banking and Branching Efficiency Act) affects the intergenerational mobility of individuals born to (poorer) families at the lower end of the income distribution. We find that individuals born to poor families who spend their first years as adults in an area with a more competitive banking system, experience higher mobility relative to counterparts located in areas characterized by lower levels of bank competition. The results of an investigation of underlying mechanisms suggest that increased educational opportunities via increased college attendance and more entrepreneurship are important factors underlying the observed increases in intergenerational mobility.
The origins of States and political economy (with Aldo Elizalde)
This paper exploits ancient navigation variation along the Mediterranean coasts as an exogenous factor for the development of the first-ever world states. Ancient Greek cities-states were the first socio-political establishments in the sense that populations were interacting with the local governments through voting and participating in social-political events. This research suggests that sea navigation played an important role in establishing such cities-states along the Mediterranean coast. Considering several parameters including wind patterns and islets, we develop a "rapprochement" measure for each 10km2 coastal area along the Mediterranean shore, and we find that higher values are associated with cities-states with more democratic institutions, higher economic prosperity, and longer sustainability. As a channel, we find that easy to access places had also a higher naval defense, and therefore higher probability to survive under economic, cultural, and political prosperity.
Other working papers
Sotiris Kampanelis, Human Beliefs and Intergenerational Mobility
This paper examines the effects of local aggregate human psychology on upward economic mobility. More specifically, I investigate whether the higher concentration of fantasy-prone personalities at the local level affects the probability for a child whose parents’ income belongs to the lowest quintile of the national income distribution to receive income in the highest quintile as an adult.
TEACHING EXPERIENCE:
2013-2015: National and Kapodistrian University of Athens, Introduction to Computer Science and Data Analysis, Tutor
2016-2019: University of St Andrews, Economic Principles, Introduction to Business Statistics, People, Work and Organizations, Introduction to Financial Accounting, Analysis of Financial Data, Financial Markets and Investments, Introduction to Business Statistics, Tutor
2020-2023:Cardiff University, Financial Economics, Applied Macroeconomics (Undergraduate), International Finance/Macroeconomics (Postgraduate) (Module Leader), Lecturer
PRESENTATIONS IN CONFERENCES:
2023: ASREC conference, Monash University, Melbourne, Australia, Presentation of the paper: “How Local Knowledge Fueled Colonial Settlement and Long-Run Economic Activity: Evidence from Australia.”
2022: European Economic Association (EEA-ESEM Congress), Bocconi University, Milan, Italy, Presentation of the paper: “Lynching and Economic Opportunities of Black Population: Evidence from the US South.”
2022: CRETE conference, Athens University of Economics and Business, Tinos, Greece, Presentation of the paper: Local knowledge, pre-colonial trade routes, and contemporary economic activity: Evidence from Australia.
2019: 7th International Ph.D. Meeting in Economics, University of Macedonia, Greece, Presentation of the Paper: Human beliefs and Intergenerational Mobility.
2018: EFiC Conference in Banking and Finance, University of Essex, Colchester, UK Presentation of the paper: “Does Local Finance affect Intergenerational Mobility? Evidence from the United States”.
2018: Financial Engineering and Banking Society (F.E.B.S.), Athens University of Economics and Business, Athens, Greece Presentation of the paper: “Does Local Finance affect Intergenerational Mobility? Evidence from the United States”.
2017: Royal Economic Society, University of Sussex, Brighton, UK Presentation of the paper: “Spreading Civilizations: Ancient Colonialism and Economic Development Along the Mediterranean”
PROFESSIONAL ACTIVITIES:
Referee service for Global Finance Journal, Oxford Economic Papers, Journal of Economic Geography.
February & March 2019 Coordinator for a Horizon 2020 grant on the “Social and economic effects of migration in Europe and integration policies”- Collaboration with Urban Environment and Human Resources institute, Panteion University, Athens
HONORS, SCHOLARSHIPS, MEDIA, AND FELLOWSHIPS:
2022 British academy research award/4500£
2022 Hodge Foundation research award/2000£
2021 Greek National TV (ERT) https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lAYjRQwB-F4
2021 VOXEU https://voxeu.org/article/economic-impact-ancient-colonisation
2018 University of St Andrews, School of Management General Scholarships /£30000
2016 St Leonard’s 7th Century Scholarship /£30000
PROGRAMMING AND SOFTWARE SKILLS:
Statistical Software: Stata, EViews
Geographical Information Systems: ArcGIS
Other: Microsoft Office