Hugo Montesinos, Research Summary
For a complete list summarizing my research activities, see my CV at pages 2-6.
“The Rise and Fall Of Worldwide Income Inequality, 1820-2035,” with James D. Gwartney, and Joseph Connors.
In this paper, we use the demographic composition of the population to classify countries into phases of economic development or modernization: (1) pre-development, (2) initial growth, (3) improved productivity, and (4) receding growth. These phases are an omitted variable in the current economic development literature and have important implications for the literature on income inequality. For example, we document a steady reduction in worldwide income inequality from 2000 to 2015 and predict, using our theory, that this trend will continue in the years immediately ahead. The worldwide Gini-coefficient was 0.639 in 1960, 0.675 in 1980, 0.684 in 2000, and 0.591 in 2015.
"On Geography, Institutions, Human Capital, and Economic Development." Florida State University Dissertation. 2019.
“The Effect of Damage Cap Reforms on Medical Malpractice Insurance Market Conditions during Periods of Crises,” with Patricia H. Born and J. Brad Karl. Forthcoming. The Journal of Risk and Insurance. Online Appendix.
“Former Centrally Planned Economies 25 Years after the Fall of Communism,” with James Gwartney, Cato Journal. 2018, Vol 38 (1).
“Unbundling the roles of human capital and institutions in economic development,” with H.Faria, D. Morales, and C. Navarro. European Journal of Political Economy. 2016, Vol 45.
“Should the modernization hypothesis survive Acemoglu, Johnson, Robinson and Yared? Some more evidence,” with H. Faria, and D. Morales. Econ Journal Watch. 2014. Vol 11(1), 17-36.
“Does Economic Freedom Cause Prosperity? An IV approach,” with H. Faria. Public Choice. 2009, 141: 103-127.
“Economic and Political Development Are Positively Correlated: Evidence in Light of Recent Claims,” with H. Faria.
“A Weakly Balanced Data Set of Poverty in the Developing World, 1970-2015,” with J. Connors.
Newest Research in Venezuela and Latin America. Selected Graphs
“25 Years After the Fall of Communism: Eastern European Economies,” with J. Gwartney, Aleksander Aszek, Krytof Kruli, Martin Vlachynsk, Jure Stojan, and Adrian Nikolov. The Visio Journal. 2018, Vol 2. Edited by Tanja Pornik.
"The Critical Role of Economic Freedom in Venezuela’s Predicament," with H. Faria. In "Economic Freedom of the World: 2016 Annual Report, " Chapter 4.
Read my Research Statement