Centre for Economic Policy Research

How Long Do Wealth Shocks Persist? Less Than Three Generations in England, 1700–2026

ABSTRACT What happens across generations to wealth shocks? Do they endure and even magnify, or do they dissipate? By implication, how much modern wealth is attributable to events before 1900? This paper uses random shocks to family size in England before 1880 that created wealth...

Opening Hours and Consumer Behavior: Evidence From GPS Data and Deregulation

ABSTRACT In 2019, North Dakota repealed its Sunday closing law, which had required most non‐grocery stores to close between midnight and noon. Using this policy change and consumer GPS data, we study the impact of opening hours on shopping behavior and welfare. We compare visits...

Banks and the economy: Evidence from the Irish bank strike of 1966

Abstract This paper studies the macroeconomic impact of the Irish bank strike of 1966, which led to the closure of the major commercial banks for 3 months. We collect a variety of new evidence, such as high‐frequency macro data, economic forecasts, micro data and narrative source...

Private Equity Ownership and Firm Performance: A Framework for Interpreting the Evidence

We review the evidence on the impact of private equity (PE) ownership on firms, stakeholders, and the economy. We organize this literature using a framework that emphasizes the costs and benefits of PE as an ownership form and implies five main predictions: (i) only some firms ar...

Reframing the epidemiological transition as increasing returns to tackling aging-related diseases

Abstract Global life expectancy has risen since 1973 from 58 to over 73 years, while the share of people aged 65 years and older has doubled to 10% and is projected to reach 21% by 2073. This shift is linked to an epidemiological transition from infectious to chronic disease. Her...

Collusion through debt and managers

Abstract We investigate the anticompetitive effects of debt financing and managerial incentives in the presence of managers incurring personal bankruptcy costs. We characterize the strategic value for firms' shareholders of resorting to debt and managerial incentives as complemen...

Rethinking entrepreneurial orientation and performance: a 30 – year bibliometric review towards more contextual and sustainable perspectives

Purpose This paper examines the evolution of research on Entrepreneurial Orientation (EO) and its relationship with firm performance over a 30-year period. While EO remains a central construct in entrepreneurship studies, concerns persist regarding its conceptual consolidation, l...

The Consequences of Promoting Data Literacy among Graduate Students

Abstract We study the impact of a data literacy program on graduate students’ skills and academic outcomes at a large Italian university. The program targets students expected to have weak quantitative skills and provides 120 h of training in data interpretation and processing al...