Topic: Cultural History
Is a Bad Deed That Goes Unpunished Less Bad?
In experiments, immorality and harm are deemed more extreme merely because an act was punished
Parents Who Favor Boys Raise Girls Who Score Lower in Math
A clue that parents prefer a son: They have more kids when their firstborn is a girl
Culture Affects How People Save Money
Immigrants show saving tendencies that carry through several generations
Descendants of Forced Migrants Value Education More Highly
Post-World War II Poland provides a unique setting to study mobility and success
In Some Places, Fertility Rates Declined Before the Industrial Revolution
Using parish records, researchers examine fundamental changes in society following the French Revolution
Why Can’t We All Get Along? On Some Things, We Do
The narrative of a growing cultural divide, while partly true, conceals a more nuanced picture
Using Ancestral Characteristics to Study Modern Economics
A database of pre-industrial sampling supports historical and ethnographic research
How Local Governance Came to England’s Economy
Nico Voigtländer found that to combat arbitrary taxes and corruption, merchants persuaded the king to cede control
A Shocking Tale of Sovereign Default and Private Contracts Nullified
Sebastian Edwards brings to life a widely forgotten chapter of U.S. history starring FDR, his no-name economist and the demise of the gold standard
How the Seemingly Rapid Advance of Democracy Goes Astray
Using voting records from a unique transition in the 19th-century Caribbean, Christian Dippel examines the embrace of self-interest by new legislators
A Stabler Climate Means Stronger Traditions
The link between environmental stability and cultural change explains why cultures evolve
A History of Plough-Based Farming Leads to Fewer Girls
Modern-day gender ratios are linked to countries’ agricultural roots
Beyond Angry Mobs: Intellectuals in the French Revolution
History’s Encyclopédie subscribers are matched to grievances against the monarchy
German Rebels Who Helped Lincoln Win the Civil War: A Natural Experiment in Leadership
Leaders of a failed 1848 revolt are followed to towns across the U.S.
Bowling for Fascism: Exploring the Dark Side of Social Capital
In pre-World War II Germany, sports clubs became a vehicle to spread Nazism
Cultures That Delay Gratification: Their Immigrants to the U.S. Excel in School
The benefit to students increases over time