SECTION A
Answer all parts (a) – (c) of this question.
1. This question refers to “Colonial Origins of Comparative Development: An
Empirical Investigation” by Acemoglu, Johnson, and Robinson (AER 2001).
a. What instrument is used by the authors to examine the effect of institutions
on economic growth Discuss the assumptions needed for this instrument to
be valid. What story must hold for this instrument to be appropriate in this
setting Explain. [3 marks]
b. Explain how “better institutions” and more secure property rights can lead to
higher per capita growth. Do the results of this paper provide evidence
supporting this relationship Explain. [1 mark]
c. What does this paper say about the effects of colonization Explain. Do these
results provide any insight regarding the impact of corruption on economic
development Explain. [1 mark]
Answer all parts (a) – (c) of this question.
2. This question refers to “Life after crossing the border: Assimilation during the first
Mexican mass migration” by Escamilla-Guerrero, Kosack, and Ward (EEH 2021).
a. How is migrant assimilation associated with shocks to immigration Explain.
Discuss three shocks that could have affected the assimilation patterns of
Mexican immigration during the early 20th century. [1 mark]
b. How can ethnic animus affect economic progress of immigrants Explain. Do
the results of this paper provide evidence about this relationship Explain.
[2 marks]
c. Was the early twentieth-century Mexican experience unique Explain. How
do the results of this paper compare to the findings of the paper “A Nation of
Immigrants: Assimilation and Economic Outcomes in the Age of Mass
Migration” by Abramitzky, Boustan, and Eriksson (JPE 2014) Explain.
[2 marks]
(Please turn over for Question 3)
Page 2 of 6
Answer all parts (a) – (c) of this question.
3. This question refers to “The evolution of culture and institutions: Evidence from
the Kuba Kingdom” by Lowes, Nunn, Robinson, and Weigel (2017).
a. Provide a definition of culture and make sure to mention what differentiates
cultural traits from institutions. Describe an example of a cultural trait.
Explain how culture is associated with institutions. [1 mark]
b. Describe the historical natural experiment used by the authors. Make sure (1)
to describe the characteristics that make this experiment particularly well
suited to identify the effect of institutions on culture; and (2) to address one
potential threat to the authors’ identification strategy. [2 marks]
c. Do the results of this paper say anything about the persistence of cultural
traits over time Make sure to describe the persistence mechanisms. Do these
mechanisms have any external validity How do they compare to the findings
of the paper “The Legacy of Colonial Medicine in Central Africa” by Lowes
and Montero (AER 2021) Explain. [2 marks]
(Please turn over for Section B)
Page 3 of 6
SECTION B
Answer all parts (a) – (e) of this question.
4. This question refers to “The economic effects of the protestant reformation: Testing
the Weber hypothesis in the German lands” by Cantoni (JEEA 2015).
a. What is the relationship between religious beliefs and economic growth
Explain. Make sure to use the Max Weber’s hypothesis to illustrate your
argument. [1 mark]
b. Why does the author use city size as a proxy for economic development
Explain. Do the results in Table 1 validate the use of city size Interpret and
compare the coefficients in columns 1 and 5. Make sure to analyse the
coefficients’ direction, magnitude, and significance. [2 marks]
c. How does the author empirically test the Weber hypothesis Make sure to
discuss why internal migration can be a potential thread to the identification
strategy. [1 mark]
d. The author estimates an equation like:
ln ( ) = + + ∑
( ×
) +
∈
Where the outcome of interest, city size ( ), is regressed on a full set of
city fixed effects (
) and year fixed effects (
); an indicator for the city’s
religion, taking the value of 1 if Protestant and 0 otherwise (
); a full
set of dummies for every time period in the data set (
); and an error term
( ). Note that the omitted category in the set of Protestantism/year
interactions is the year 1500. What does the coefficients capture
Explain. Does the presence of any period-specific shock affecting all cities
would bias the author’s estimates Make sure to provide two examples of
period-specific shocks to illustrate your argument. [2 marks]
e. Do the findings of this paper support Max Weber’s hypothesis Explain.
What other effects could have had the Protestant Reformation Use the paper
“Religious competition and reallocation: The political economy of
secularization in the Protestant Reformation” by Cantoni, Dittmar, and
Yuchtman (QJE 2018) to support your argument. [2 marks]
Page 4 of 6
Table 1. City size and economic outcomes.
Notes: Robust standard errors in brackets. Standardized beta coefficient is in italics. A
constant term is included in all regressions. p.c., per capita. *Significant at 10%;
**significant at 5%; ***significant at 1%. (1) Teacher-student ratio in elementary schools.
(2) Sums insured with local fire insurance companies. (3) Tax on businesses. (4) Number
of looms. (5) Number of merchants.
(Please turn over for Question 5)
Page 5 of 6
Answer all elements (1) – (3) of this question.
5. Define in your own words what is a historical natural experiment. Make sure to
address: (1) the three primary motives for examining historical natural experiments;
(2) what are some challenges to the analysis of historical natural experiments; and
(3) what are some advantages that historical natural experiments have over
randomized controlled trials (RCTs). [2 marks]
*** END OF PAPER ***
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