Working Papers
Cultural Remittances and Modern Fertility (with H. Rapoport, E. Spolaore & R. Wacziarg). NBER working paper #32990, CEPR working paper #DP19510, CESifo working paper #113557. Submitted
Abstract: We argue that migrants played a significant role in the diffusion of the demographic transition from France to the rest of Europe in the late 19th century. Employing novel data on French immigration from other European regions from 1850 to 1930, we find that higher immigration to France translated into lower fertility in the region of origin after a few decades - both in cross-region regressions for various periods, and in a panel setting with region fixed-effects. These results are robust to the inclusion of a variety of controls, and across multiple specifications. We also find that immigrants who themselves became French citizens achieved lower fertility, particularly those who moved to French regions with the lowest fertility levels. We interpret these findings in terms of cultural remittances, consistent with insights from a theoretical framework where migrants act as vectors of cultural diffusion, spreading new information, social norms and preferences pertaining to modern fertility to their regions of origin.
When Democratization Turns into an "Empty Promise." Evidence from the Birth of the Welfare State. (with P. Maarek)
Abstract: The emergence of welfare state programs in late 19th-century Europe represented a revolution in the role of modern states. This coincided with an unprecedented wave of democratization. However, contrary to the conventional theory, expanding voting rights in new democracies did not always lead to redistribution through welfare state construction. We argue that this is because emerging political parties needed time to stabilize. Party stability is crucial as it extends governments’ time horizons for building long-term social systems and enhances coordination capacity to pass divisive social legislation. We provide new evidence in this sense at the country level by leveraging the staggered expansion of voting rights in Western Europe, using a novel dataset on party stability. Additionally, we analyze deputies’ individual voting behaviors in young French democracy, which substantially delayed welfare state development. We exploit a natural experiment where deputies voted multiple times over two decades on the same bill that laid the foundation of the French social system.
Selected Publications
Voter Turnout and Intergenerational Redistribution. Journal of Comparative Economics, vol. 49 (2), June 2021, pp. 603-626 (with M. Klien & A. Pickering).
Polarization and Corruption in America. European Economic Review, vol. 124, May 2020 (with A. Pickering)
Blog/Media Coverage: Marginal Revolution, Le Point
Labor Costs and the Size of Government. Oxford Bulletin of Economics and Statistics vol. 79 (2), April 2017, pp. 251–275 (with F. Facchini and A. Pickering).
Blog/Media coverage: Economic Logic, Stumbling and Mumbling
Other Publications in Peer-Reviewed Journals
Economic Shocks and Democratic Consolidation: Historical Evidence from Party-Level Electoral Volatility in France. Electoral Studies, 2023 (with F. Facchini)
Ideological Polarization and Government Debt. International Tax and Public Finance, 29(4), 2022, 811-833. Lead Article (with A. Pickering)
Egalitarianism and the Democratic Deconsolidation: Is Democracy Compatible with Socialism? Public Choice, vol. 186(3), March 2021, pp. 447-465 (with F. Facchini)
Blog/Media coverage: Le Point
New Evidence on the Historical Growth of Government in Europe: The Role of Labor Costs. European Journal of Political Economy, vol. 59, Sept. 2019, pp. 445-460 (with A. Pickering)
The Democratic Crisis and the Knowledge Problem. Politics & Policy, vol. 47, Oct. 2019, pp. 1022-1038 (with F. Facchini)
Media-Driven Polarization. Evidence from the US. Economic E-Journal, vol. 13, 2019-34, June 2019 (with P. Sekeris)
Ideological Polarization and the Media. Economics Letters, vol. 125 (1), Oct. 2014, pp. 36-39 (with A. Pickering)
Political Ideology and Economic Growth: Evidence from the French Democracy. Economic Inquiry, vol. 52 (4) 4, Oct. 2014, pp. 1408–1426 (with F. Facchini)
Efficient Government Size: France in the 20th Century. European Journal of Political Economy, vol. 31, Sept. 2013, pp. 1–14 (with F. Facchini).
Blog/Media coverage: Punditokraterne, National Affairs, Federal Government Failure
Book
Choix publics. Analyse économique des décisions publiques. Edited by De Boeck, Dec. 2010 (with D. Mueller, F. Facchini, M. Foucault, A. François and R. Magni-Berton). French adaptation of the book Public Choice III, 2009, by D.C. Mueller.
Works in Progress
Cultural Diversity and the Long-Term Reversal of Inequality (with A. Pickering). Project Award: Marie Curie Actions Seal of Excellence
Who are the New Nationalists? (with A. Riboni)
Inherited Ideology and Growth (with M. Sangnier)
How does the Pension System affect the Politicians' Motivations? (with S. Lapointe)
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