WORKING PAPERS

ROOTS OF AUTOCRACY

This research advances the hypothesis and establishes empirically that variations

in population diversity across human societies, as determined in the course of the exodus of humans from Africa tens of thousands of years ago, had contributed to the differential formation of pre-colonial autocratic institutions across ethnic groups and the emergence and persistence of contemporary autocratic institutions across countries. Exploiting a novel geo-referenced data set of population diversity across ethnic groups, the study demonstrates that while diversity has amplified the importance of institutions in mitigating the adverse effects of social non-cohesiveness on productivity, it has contributed to inequality and the scope for domination, leading to the formation and persistence of institutions of the autocratic type.

Media Coverage:

New York Times " In Search for a New Emperor"

EVOLUTION OF LOSS AVERSION

This research explores the origins of loss aversion and the variation in its prevalence across regions, nations and ethnic group. It advances the hypothesis and establishes empirically that the evolution of loss aversion in the course of human history can be traced to the adaptation of individuals to the asymmetric eects of climatic shocks on reproductive success during the Malthusian epoch. Exploiting variations in the degree of loss aversion among second generation migrants in Europe and the US, as well as across precolonial ethnic groups, the research establishes that consistent with the predictions of the theory, individuals and ethnic groups that are originated in regions in which climatic conditions tended to be spatially correlated, and thus shocks were aggregate in nature, are characterized by greater intensity of loss aversion, while descendants of regions marked by climatic volatility have greater propensity towards loss-neutrality.

Media Coverage:

Pacific Standard "How a Volatile Climate Shapes the Way People Think"

OTHER WORKING PAPERS

The Out of Africa Hypothesis of Comparative Development:

Galor Oded and Marc Klemp, "Roots of Autocracy" (Revised: 2019)
- New York Times
Ashraf, Quamrul, Oded Galor, and Marc Klemp, "The Out of Africa Hypothesis of Comparative Economic Development: Common Misconceptions" (December 2018)

Ashraf, Quamrul, Oded Galor, and Marc Klemp, "Interpersonal Diversity and Socioeconomic Disparities Across Populations: A Reply to Rosenberg and Kang" (December 2018
Ashraf Quamrul, Oded Galor and Marc Klemp, "Heterogeneity and Productivity" (April 2018)
Ashraf Quamrul, Oded Galor and Marc Klemp, "The Out of Africa Hypothesis of Comparative Development Reflected by Nighttime Light Intensity" (May 2018)

Roots of Cultural Traits:

Ashraf Quamrul and Oded Galor, "Cultural Diversity, Geographical Isolation, and the Origin of the Wealth of Nations," (2012).
Ashraf Quamrul, Oded Galor and Omer Ozak, "Isolation and Development," Journal of the European Economic Association, 8(2-3), 401-412, April 2010.
Galor Oded, Omer Ozak and Assaf Sarid, "Geographical Roots of the Coevolution of Cultural and Linguistic Traits" (October 2018)
Ashraf, Quamrul and Oded Galor, "Cultural Assimilation, Cultural Diffusion and the Origin of the Wealth of Nations," (2007).

Human Capital & Industrialization:

Ashraf, Quamrul, Francesco Cinnirella, Oded Galor, Boris Gershman, and Erik Hornung, "Structural Change, Elite Capitalism, and the Emergence of Labor Emancipation" (June 2020).
Franck Raphael and Oded Galor, "Technology-Skill Complementarity in Early Phases of Industrialization" (Revised: May 2020)

Review: The NEP-HIS Blog

Soli Quality and Development

Galor Oded and Omer Ozak, "Land Productivity and Economic Development: Caloric Suitability vs. Agricultural Suitability" (July 2015)

Institutions:

Galor, Oded, Kaivan Munshi and Nick Wilson, “Inclusive Institutions and Long Run Misallocation,” (2013).

Human Evolution:

Galor, Oded and Omer Moav, "The Neolithic Revolution and Contemporary Variations in Life Expectancy," (2007).

Working Papers: Publications