Research
Publications
Religion and Educational Mobility in Africa, with Alesina, Hohmann, and Papaioannou
Nature, May 2023, Vol 618, 134–143.
Slides - ERC funded - Video: Futurity; Phys.org;
Folklore with Xue
Quarterly Journal of Economics, Nov 2021, Vol 136 (4), 1993–2046. [lead article]
Slides - Video - Media: Barron's; World Bank Blog;
Intergenerational Mobility in Africa, with Alesina, Hohmann, and Papaioannou
Econometrica, Jan 2021, Vol 89(1): 1-35. [lead article]
slides - files; Media: The Economist, VOXEU podcast
Historical Legacies and African Development, with Papaioannou
The Influence of Ancestral Lifeways on Individual Economic Outcomes in Sub-Saharan Africa, with Putterman and Weil
Journal of the European Economic Association, August 2019, 17(4): 1186–1231.
slides - video - files; Media: Vollrath's Blog
Spatial Patterns of Development: A Meso Approach, with Papaioannou
Annual Review of Economics, 2018 (10): 383-410.
Trade and Geography in the Spread of Islam, with Naghavi and Prarolo
The Economic Journal, Dec. 2018, 128 (616): 3210—3241.
slides - files; Media: VOX, LSE Business Review
The Long-Run Effects of the Scramble for Africa, with Papaioannou
American Economic Review, 2016, 106 (7): 1802-1848.
files - slides - video; Media: AEA Research Highlights, Project Syndicate, VOX
The Scramble for Africa and its Legacy, The New Palgrave Dictionary in Economics, 2016
Ethnic Inequality, with Alesina and Papaioannou
Journal of Political Economy, 2016, 124 (2): 428-488.
files - slides; Media: The Economist, VOX
Islam, Inequality, and Pre-Industrial Comparative Development, with Naghavi and Prarolo
Journal of Development Economics, 2016, 120: 86-98.
Media: VOX
Climatic Fluctuations and the Diffusion of Agriculture, with Ashraf
Review of Economics and Statistics, 2015, Vol. 97, No. 3: 589-609.
slides; Media: Breviosity
On the Ethnic Origins of African Development: Traditional Chiefs and Pre-Colonial Political Centralization, with Papaioannou
Academy of Management Perspectives, 2015, 29 (1): 32-71.
Media: Cherokee Gothic
Financial Innovation and Endogenous Growth, with Laeven and Levine
Journal of Financial Intermediation, 2015, 24 (1): 1-24. [lead article]
Further Evidence on the Link between Pre-Colonial Political Centralization and Comparative Economic Development in Africa, with Papaioannou
Economics Letters, 2015, 126 (1): 57-62.
National Institutions and Subnational Development in Africa, with Papaioannou
Pre-colonial Ethnic Institutions and Contemporary African Development, with Papaioannou
Evolution and the Growth Process: Natural Selection of Entrepreneurial Traits, with Galor
Journal of Economic Theory, 2012, 147(2): 759-780.
Reprinted in E. Spolaore (ed.), Culture and Economic Growth, Cheltenham, UK: Edward Elgard Publishing, 2014
Working Papers
Movies with Rauh
Illuminating Africa? (r&r at EJ), with Chiovelli, Papaioannou, and Tanner
Forced Displacement and Human Capital (r&r at QJE) with Chiovelli, Papaioannou, and Sequeira - IGC funded
Landmines and Spatial Development (r&r at ECMA) with Chiovelli and Papaioannou
Slides - Website - Media: QUARTZ, VoxDev - PEDL funded
Emigration During the French Revolution: Consequences in the Short and Longue Durée, NBER w23936, with Franck
Media: VOX
Work in Progress
Private Colonialism in Africa, with Chiovelli, Le Rossignol, and Papaioannou - ERC funded
Refugees in the Mediterranean: Economic Consequences with Papaioannou, Benos, Karagiannis, Murard and Orcan Sakalli - NSF funded
Refugees in the Mediterranean: Political Consequences with Papaioannou, and Logothetis - NSF funded
Songs of Refugees with Papaioannou, and Logothetis - NSF funded
Life Narratives with Lagakos and Voth
Old Working Papers
Divide and Rule or the Rule of the Divided? Evidence from Africa with Papaioannou - NBER w17184 - Slides - VOX
The Evolution of Entrepreneurial Spirit and the Process of Development with Galor - CEPR No. 6022
Trade and Geography in the Origins and Spread of Islam, NBER w18438, with Naghavi and Prarolo