The international epidemiological transition and the education gender gap

We explore the impact of the international epidemiological transition on educational attainment of males and females over the second half of the twentieth century. Using an instrumental variables strategy that exploits pre-existing variation in mortality rates across infectious diseases and gender differences in the responsiveness to the method of disease control, we document that health improvements associated with the transition led to larger gains in life expectancy for females due to their stronger immune response to vaccination. These relative gains were associated with greater increases in the educational attainment of females compared to males and account for a large share of the reduction in the education gender gap that took place over this period

Growing social value polarisation harms economic development

Greater polarisation impedes collective action and is associated with lower levels of GDP per capita, write Sjoerd Beugelsdijk, Mariko J. Klasing and Petros Milioni

The role of regional social capital changes over the course of the entrepreneurial process

The entrepreneurial process does not take place in a vacuum but is deeply embedded in its context, such as where a would-be entrepreneur lives. Johannes Kleinhempel, Sjoerd Beugelsdijk, and Mariko J. Klasing analyse how socio-cultural conditions shape entrepreneurship, emphasising the critical importance of regional social capital and the changing role of contextual conditions over the course of the entrepreneurial process