Sascha O. Becker

Political Breakthroughs in the Trenches ROCKWOOL Foundation

🆕 RFBerlin Discussion Paper: @paulinegrosjean.bsky.social, @saumjha.bsky.social, @mvlass.bsky.social, and @yveszenou.bsky.social study when and how exposure to new political ideas can realign beliefs by leveraging the exogenous assignment of French soldiers to line infantry regiments in WWI.

Correct headline today: EU endorses the drive-by killing of the postwar rules-based trading system and the most-favoured-nation principle.

Last week, we welcomed 2 ISEG Summer School courses: Nagore Iriberri discussed Gender Economics: Women in Science and @essobecker.bsky.social provided us with much food for thought in New Insights from Econ History: Migration, Networks, Religion. Thank you for joining us in sunny (& windy) Lisbon!

Professor Dr. Dr. h.c. Zhuravskaya 🎉

EJ submission #1000 just landed in my inbox.
We'll get quite close to 2,000 submissions by Christmas 😮

Graph showing the change in religious composition in Latin America over time. As of 2014, the percentage of Catholics has declined from 94% in 1910 to 69% and the percentage of Evangelicals has increased from 1% to 19%. Pentecostal Evangelicals play a prominent role in Latin American politics, often supporting far-right candidates and promoting pastors to run for elections. This column presents evidence from Brazil showing that Pentecostal expansion, driven by the activities of the Summer Institute of Linguistics – a 20th century US evangelical organisation focused on Bible translation – increased electoral support for evangelical and far-right candidates. The findings underscore the significant role of religious actors in amplifying political movements.

Daniela Solá shows that Pentecostal expansion in #Brazil driven by the Summer Institute of Linguistics - a 20th century US evangelical organisation focused on Bible translations - increased electoral support for evangelical and #far-right candidates.
cepr.org/voxeu/column...
#EconSky

I ❤️ the wisdom of Mark Harrison's Survival Guide for Department Chairs @mark4harrison.bsky.social

warwick.ac.uk/fac/soc/econ...

www.thisismoney.co.uk/money/cars/a...

Good to see coverage of mine and Johannes Brinkmann's @cagewarwick.bsky.social on the RTFO. Here's a nice graph showing the benefits...

The JEEA paper: doi.org/10.1093/jeea...

In the grand sweep of history over the last millennium, political divergence between Europe and contemporaneous world civilisations preceded economic divergence. This column describes how the development of the institutional frameworks of medieval constitutionalism – characterised by representative assemblies, rule of law, and substantial fiscal and spending capacity – in European towns and cities paved the way for Western modern states. In a current international climate where democratic institutions increasingly appear to be on the back foot, history offers a sobering perspective on the hard-fought moves towards greater representation.

@essobecker.bsky.social, Andreas Ferrara, @ericmelander.bsky.social‬, & @luigipascali.bsky.social explore how wars played a crucial role in the emergence of the blueprints for modern states in #Europe as conflict forced rulers to strike bargains with their subjects.
cepr.org/voxeu/column...
#EconSky

The fantastic Ekaterina Zhuravskaya will be awarded an honorary doctorate at the University of Warwick next week 👏
warwick.ac.uk/news/pressre...

In 1994 Rwanda faced one of the worst genocides in recorded history. As part of our new school video series with @discoverecon.bsky.social and @cephie.bsky.social, economist Arthur Blouin examines whether government attempts at reconciliation have really healed a divided society.▶️
buff.ly/EMQhdN7

Universities in England at risk of long-term decline, says British Academy Outgoing president Dame Julia Black calls on ministers to overhaul their ‘confused’ approach to higher education

‘England’s higher education system risks long-term decline unless ministers overhaul their “confused, if not incoherent” approach to universities’

FT interview with outgoing @britishacademy.bsky.social President Julia Black where she pulls no punches!

www.ft.com/content/3162...

Announcing the #ASSA2026 Distinguished Lecturer, Leah Boustan of Yale University. She will be speaking on her work related to migration, assimilation, and economic opportunity.

Political Rhetoric and Racial Discrimination in Arrests for Drugs* Abstract. This paper examines how political rhetoric shapes law enforcement behaviour. We analyse monthly arrest data from 1,420 police agencies across 38

We’re grateful to all who gave feedback at conferences, seminars and in private.
Special thanks to The Economic Journal editor, @essobecker.bsky.social, and anonymous reviewers for their constructive and insightful comments.

📄 Read the paper here:
academic.oup.com/ej/advance-a...
#EconTwitter 6/6

United Air Lines Flight 409 - Wikipedia

Medicine Bow Peak is where United Airlines flight 409 crashed on October 6, 1955, killing all 66 people on board (63 passengers, 3 crew members). The victims included five female members of the Mormon Tabernacle Choir and military personnel: en.wikipedia.org/wiki/United_...

10 years ago today, we got lost on a hike in Medicine Bow National Forest, Wyoming. Bear country. Amazing views, but darkness broke sooner than we anticipated. No GPS. Our phones dead. Kids age 5, 10, 12. At 6am we found the paved road again. A night in the wilderness we will never forget.
🙏🙏🙏

Text: Economic Warfare and Sanctions since 1688, edited by Stephen Broadberry and Mark Harrison. Illustration photo shows ship being struck by a torpedo, seen through a submarine periscope.

Excited that *Economic Warfare and Sanctions since 1688*, edited by Steve Broadberry and me, and forthcoming in November, is already up on the @universitypress.cambridge.org website www.cambridge.org/gb/universit... with a terrific cover page

A cover story from me in this week's @economist.com—on the "Poundland" strategy for the British economy: as a a cheap-but-good-value exporter of workers and assets.

That means slaying some sacred "world-beating" cows, but is truer to the advantages Britain actually has.

(🧵)

• Discontinue the idea of introducing a levy on higher education provider income from international students. • Reduce visa costs to ensure they are at least as competitive in cost as other leading science nations, and preferably have a target to become the mos competitive in the G7. • Provide immediate clarity that the current time length for Indefinite Leave to Remain is kept in place for current and future Global Talent visa holders and their dependents.

We are calling on the UK Government to not introduce a levy on higher education provider income from international students, reduce visa costs to attract global talent, and to review higher education funding to create a sustainable model
www.thebritishacademy.ac.uk/documents/58...

"The Dramatic Rise of the New Society Journals in Economics" is not yet another journal ranking paper but a paper about >how< the new society journals succeeded.

Appendix C "Narrative Evidence" is a true gem. Highly recommended.

pdf 👉 doi.org/10.1093/ej/u...

Coventry Canal is a gem ❤️
So much history: Daimler Powerhouse.

Just looking at this paper again. Such a gem.

The impact of welfare reforms - lessons from history Many in opposition to the government's proposed welfare cuts describe the bill as 'Dickensian' and 'from another era'. While the debate continues, we highlight the work of CAGE Research Associates Eri...

“.. welfare cuts are felt most strongly by those who are already economically vulnerable and can therefore exacerbate existing inequalities.” Research by @ericmelander.bsky.social and Martina Miotto analyses the impact of the 1834 reforms – the largest welfare cut in British history. buff.ly/5CdCJWw

Paris kühlt sich während der Hitzewelle dank der Begrünung ab Die Vegetalisierung von Paris durch Bürgermeisterin Anne Hidalgo vermag die Temperaturen deutlich zu senken, wie sich vor allem während der sommerlichen Hitze zeigt

Paris setzt auf grüne Dächer, weniger Parkplätze und Stadtwälder – und verzeichnet dort während Hitzewellen deutlich kühlere Temperaturen.
Stadtchefin Anne Hidalogo rettet Leben, weil sie die Klimakrise ernst nimmt.
Ist so.
www.derstandard.at/story/300000...

📣 Call for papers: 𝟭𝟵𝘁𝗵 𝗪𝗼𝗿𝗸𝘀𝗵𝗼𝗽 𝗼𝗻 𝗣𝗼𝗹𝗶𝘁𝗶𝗰𝗮𝗹 𝗘𝗰𝗼𝗻𝗼𝗺𝘆, jointly organized with @tudresden.bsky.social & ifo #Dresden.
📅28 - 29 November 2025
Keynotes: @essobecker.bsky.social & Ruben Enikopolov.
Organizers: @econlessmann.bsky.social, Niklas Potrafke, Gunther Markwardt

ℹ️ www.ifo.de/en/cesifo/ev...

And we are live! #econsky @jpolecon.bsky.social

jpedataeditor.github.io

Teaching materials available: www.eeassoc.org/teaching-mat...

The war-torn histories of Europe’s medieval cities had a silver lining: institutional innovations that paved the way for modern states.

Wars, Taxation and Representation: Evidence from Five Centuries of German History Abstract. We provide causal evidence for the role of warfare in the development of medieval constitutionalism. Using novel data on the universe of German c

Forthcoming article by @essobecker.bsky.social @andyferrara.bsky.social @ericmelander.bsky.social @luigipascali.bsky.social "Wars, Taxation and Representation: Evidence from Five Centuries of German History" @eeanews.bsky.social

doi.org/10.1093/jeea...