Working Papers
Working Papers
This paper investigates the long-term impact of socialist institutions on civic life in Poland. Using newly compiled municipal-level data from the interwar to the post-socialist period, I provide causal evidence that historical exposure to collective farming increased contemporary institutional civic engagement—measured by NGO density, trust in public institutions, and left-wing vote share—while leaving grassroots participation largely unaffected. Identification relies on two strategies: an instrumental variable design using land expropriations from the 1944 reform, and a geographic regression discontinuity based on the 1944–1947 forced deportation of ethnic minorities. Results are robust to alternative specifications and national replication. The paper also introduces harmonized historical data and a novel crosswalk linking interwar and present-day municipalities, enabling long-run analysis.
This Paper explores whether the Swedish invasion of Poland (1655-1660), known as "The Deluge," acted as a major historical shock that profoundly reshaped Poland's religious and cultural landscape. Challenging the idea that culture only changes slowly, the research investigates if this period of intense conflict, particularly the symbolic defense of Jasna Góra and King Jan Kazimierz's declaration of Mary as Queen of Poland, led to a rapid and persistent consolidation of Catholic identity. By analyzing historical data on religious construction and contemporary indicators like religious street names in areas affected by the invasion, the study aims to demonstrate a lasting impact of the Deluge on Polish Catholic national identity.
This study examines the long-term political impact of historical state repression in Poland, focusing on the role of public information in shaping electoral preferences. Using a difference-in-differences framework, the research investigates the effects of the 2005 publication of the Wildstein List—an archival leak exposing individuals linked to the Polish Socialist Secret Police (SB)—on vote shares for the post-communist Democratic Left Alliance (SLD). The findings indicate that municipalities historically exposed to SB operations experienced a significant decline in support for the SLD after the list’s release, with vote shares decreasing by approximately 1.9 to 4.8 percentage points. This suggests that revealing past repression can reactivate historical grievances, reinforcing distrust toward political successors of former authoritarian regimes. By leveraging geocoded data on SB personnel, electoral outcomes from 1991 to 2024, and socioeconomic indicators, the study provides robust evidence of the persistence of repression’s political legacy. These results contribute to broader debates on transitional justice, memory politics, and the enduring influence of authoritarian history on democratic behavior.
Catastrophes and political and economic events such as the Partitions of Poland, the Russian Revolution, or the Armenian Genocide - the Big Bangs - led to mass immigration from Central and Eastern Europe (CEE) to the U.S. in the 19th and 20th centuries. These migrant groups have profoundly shaped the political landscape and economy of the United States. In this paper, we trace the mass migration from CEE to the United States between 1900 and 1950. These communities are particularly known for their political and cultural influence in the U.S., as well as their quantitatively relevant voting bloc. Taking advantage of temporal and geographic differences in migration patterns and the distribution of migrants across U.S. counties, we use shift-share (bartik-style) instruments as well as difference-in-difference and matching methods to show the impact on voting behavior in U.S. counties. We combine historical census data with presidential, gubernatorial, and U.S. Senate direct elections for the years 1900-1950. This paper contributes to the literature on the political economy of migration and the importance of ethnic voting in the United States. It also sheds light on the development and impact of some of the most influential political communities in the United States.