Building Socialism on Abandoned Land: The Social Impact of Collectivization in Poland

Abstract: This paper examines how socialist institutions persistently shaped culture and identity, thereby leaving a lasting impact on civil society and political preferences. To identify the influence of socialist institutions, the uneven roll-out of agricultural collectivization in Poland is utilized – the only Central and Eastern European country that was only partially collectivized. Two historical policy shocks that strengthened state control over land to varying degrees are utilized in instrumental-variable and regression-discontinuity designs: land expropriated during the 1944 land reform, and land abandoned after the deportation of ethnic and religious minorities in the 1940s. Both policies are strong predictors of collectivization, while showing no correlation with relevant pre-collectivization characteristics. For the analysis, a novel dataset was constructed combining data sources from over 100 years of Polish history. This paper demonstrates that historical collectivization is associated with stronger formal civil society and greater state dependency. It is proposed that the historical presence of social institutions and residential densification that accompanied collectivization are important drivers of these relationships and their persistence. This paper provides evidence that collective institutions generated organizational capacities and a state-oriented, hierarchical culture.

Presented at ASREC 2025 at George Mason University, the Economic History Seminar at Humboldt University, Applied Economics Lunch Seminar at Paris School of Economics, Inter-University PhD Workshop in Economic History at Universidad de Barcelona, Workshop on Economic History of the Applied Young Economist Webinar at Monash University, Workshop on Economic History at Uppsala University, YSI Workshop of Developing Regions at Charles III University of Madrid, Applied Microeconomics Seminar at Freie Universität Berlin, and the 15th Swedish Economic History Meeting at Lund University. 

The Shadow of Communism in American Politics: Evidence from the US Congress

with Theocharis Grigoariadis and Max Steinhardt

Abstract: This paper investigates the transnational political agency of Eastern European diasporas. It specifically examines how the Polish diaspora in the United States (Polonia) shaped American political development during the Cold War. We conceptualise the Polonia as a carrier of political events from the home country, whose latent anti-communist preferences are strategically addressed by politicians. Based on a novel dataset of U.S. Congressional speeches, newspaper media salience, and roll call votes from the 93rd to 101st Congresses, we analyze legislative behavior by employing a two-way fixed effects empirical framework. We find that during exogenous foreign policy shocks that raised Polish salience, such as the rise of Solidarity and the 1980s, Members of Congress representing high Polonia districts significantly intensified pro-Polish floor discourse and conservative voting behavior. Furthermore, we provide tentative evidence that this ideological realignment yielded observable electoral rewards. We propose an electoral equilibrium where the historical trauma of communism works as a mobilization catalyst by redefining the nexus between international shocks, diaspora agency, and domestic political polarization.

The Price of Service: Military Conscription and Family Formation

With Pierre Ryckewaert, and David Zuchowski

When the Past Becomes Salient: Repression and the Political Economy in Poland

War and Worship: The Religious Impact of Swedish Invasions in Poland

Dividing Empires, Divergent Norms: The Impact of Polish Partitions on Gender Norms and Outcomes

With Denise Barth, Natalia Danzer, Iga Magda, and Piotr Paweł Larysz