With the rise of the knowledge economy, the importance of intellectual capital has grown. The concept of intellectual capital was raised by Galbraith in 1969, since when the market to book value of corporations around the world has increased dramatically. The implication of this phenomenon is that value creating factors have shifted from tangible assets to intangible ones. Thus, in order to cre...

The Age of Mass Migration: Economic and Institutional Determinants We study the determinants of 19th century mass migration with special attention to the role of institutional factors beside standard economic fundamentals. We find that economic forces associated with income and demographic differentials had a major role in the determination of this historical event, but that the quality of inst...

European settler mortality has been proposed as an instrument to predict the causal effect of colonial institutions on differences in economic development. We examine the relationship between mortality, temperature, and economic development in former European colonies in Asia, Africa, and the Americas. We find that (i) European settler mortality rates increased with regional temperatures and (i...

— This essay focuses on two questions: How do the current economic systems and institutions of Muslim countries differ from those of other countries at the same stage of economic development? What is the impact of Islam on the economic and social performance of these countries? Employing a cluster analysis I find that there is no special Muslim economic system; moreover, few economic institutio...