One of the remarkable things about many field experiments done by development economists is the low attrition rates that have been achieved in many surveys. In an era of increasing suspicion about scams, and distrust in strangers, the fact that people are willing to repeatedly answer often lengthy questionnaires is amazing. It can take a […]
Workers often remain in their jobs even when they know they may get higher wages elsewhere, raising questions about the effectiveness of pay transparency laws. This column draws on a large German survey to examine how information frictions shape labour market outcomes. The findings suggest that workers are better informed than many policymakers assume, but […]
China’s yuan was flat at 7.195 per dollar in offshore trading. Currency markets were in a holding pattern on Tuesday, with traders’ reluctance to make large bets ahead of U.S. inflation data – important for Federal Reserve policy expectations – capping moves after UK jobs data and an Australian rate cut. A moderate reading on […]
Few economic debates have lasted as long as the 160-year debate concerning the effects of Italian unification on the economies of Italy’s South and North. This column proposes a way to move the argument forward. The authors estimate the causal effects of unification on the agricultural share, literacy rates, and railway density in the South […]
Geopolitical risk is a key concern for the euro area, yet most available measures reflect a US perspective. This column introduces a new indicator of geopolitical risk tailored specifically to the euro area, based entirely on newspaper coverage from local sources. The authors show that shocks to this index have significant recessionary and inflationary effects, […]
Who has more authority in the eyes of the public – male or female economists? This column uses an information experiment to show that the opinions of visibly senior female economists (professors in top economics departments) carry more weight. A plausible explanation is that credentials (signals of success) may reduce or reverse stereotyped discrimination: women […]
The global financial crisis of 2008 has led economists, historians, and policymakers alike to re-examine the foundations of our financial infrastructure. This column revisits the world of credit before the rise of modern banking to draw insights for contemporary reform. Drawing on historical research from early modern Europe, it reveals that communities long relied on […]
