Using Eurobarometer data for 21 Western European countries since 1973 we show the U-shape in life satisfaction by age, present for so long, has now vanished. In 13 northern European countries - ...

We develop and quantify a novel growth theory in which economic activity endogenously shifts from material production to quality improvements. Consumers derive utility from goods with differing ...

This paper analyzes 630,000 paintings from 1400 onward to uncover how visual art reflects its socioeconomic context. We develop a learning algorithm to predict nine basic emotions conveyed in each ...

Canonical economic theory clearly predicts means-tested transfers will reduce work. We provide new evidence on this question in the context of the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP)—the ...

We study common ownership in 49 countries from 2005 to 2019 and show that it is pervasive and rising around the world. However, despite this global growth, common ownership is still considerably lower ...

We estimate an equilibrium model of car attribute production using U.S. household microdata for 1995–2017 and structurally decompose attribute trends into underlying mechanisms. We find that technical ...

Small businesses have long supplied a disproportionate share of major innovations in the United States. We review a centerpiece policy on this topic: the US Small Business Innovation Research (SBIR) ...

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Can the enhanced mobility created by transportation infrastructure investments help people to avoid environmental extremes? We use transaction records from China’s card payment system to measure ...

This paper documents persistence in the power of elite families in Central China despite dynastic change. We study the impact of the fall of the Ming Dynasty (1368-1644) on couples and their ...

We address three core questions about the hypothesized role of newly emerging job categories ('new work') in counterbalancing the erosive effect of task-displacing automation on labor demand: what is ...

This chapter reviews the literature on the relationship between culture and political preferences. We distinguish conceptually between the direct cultural transmission of political ideology and the ...