We investigate the relationship between armed groups and large-scale mining firms in the Democratic Republic of Congo using geo-referenced data over 2000-2015. We start by showing that the pattern of links between armed bands and concession owners significantly departs from the random bench- mark, even after accounting for geographic proximity. After observing a given owner-band pair in a concession, we are significantly more likely to find the same pair in a different concession, possibly far away. We next explore the nature of the interaction by focusing on the timing and on the type of violence exerted by armed groups, and by exploring how it varies with local population density. Our results are consistent with the interpretation that mining companies and armed bands engage in repeated interactions, where the latter help clear the territory from competing armed bands and destabilize the surrounding environment in a way that potentially allows to access cheaper labor.
laferrarazufacchi_27nov.pdf
Abstract: A sudden, large, and unanticipated change in the supply of a crucial factor of production (land, labor, physical or human capital) unleashes social and political turmoil. Returns to a previously scarce factor fall if it suddenly becomes abundant; returns to a previously abundant one rise if it suddenly becomes scarce. Societies typically adjust to such a shock in any of four ways, each more difficult than the one before it: factor substitution, factor mobility, a factor-saving technology, or coercion. I focus on cases in which societies and governments respond to the same shock in opposite ways. Faced with a sudden shortage of labor, one society may shift to less labor-intensive production, while its neighbor uses coercion to suppress workers. Faced with a sudden loss of access to land, some societies will move to technologies that exploit their newly abundant endowments of human or physical capital, or of labor, while others seek to conquer and colonize adjacent lands. In historical case studies, I show how such factors as soil and climate, previous experience of privation, and technological breakthroughs can determine which course a society takes.
rogowski.piep_november_11b.pdf
The federalism structure of the US government requires active cooperation from state gov- ernments to successfully enforce federal environmental regulations. What explains state gov- ernments’ participation in lawsuits against firms that are accused of violating major environ- mental statutes? We argue that firms’ political connections with state politicians affect a state government’s decision to join the litigation process. By constructing a novel dataset on the EPA’s civil cases and settlements for the period 1998-2021, we show that state environmental agencies are less likely to join the EPA in court when the defendant firms contributed to Re- publican state legislators. We do not find the same pattern when firms have connections with Democratic legislators. We also show that state involvement in litigation is associated with higher penalties as well as more environmental provisions in judicial outcomes. Our findings highlight how state politics can be an avenue for firms to exert influence on federal regulations.
You, "Money and Cooperative Federalism: Evidence from EPA Civil Litigation
In their study of the economics of labor coercion, Acemoglu and Wolitzky (2011) proposed a theoretical argument to unify two mechanisms that scholars had long thought contradicted each other: a labor demand effect, by which the elite coerces labor when supply is scarce, and an outside option effect, by which labor scarcity and better outside options for the workers undermine coercive arrangements. We build a new data set of roll-call votes on 1884-1888 eman- cipation bills in the Brazilian legislature, and we find that both mechanisms played a role in building the coalition that eventually abolished slavery.
seyler_silve_abolition_of_slavery_in_brazil_202203.pdf
This paper investigates the empirical relationship between inclusion and state ca- pacity, as theorized by Besley and Persson (2009). We examine the impact of racial discrimination on Black U.S. military enlistment during the onset of WWII. We find that discrimination had a large and negative effect on volunteer enlistment after the Pearl Harbor attack. The result is robust to a large number of controls that account for potential confounders. The negative effect of discrimination is moderated by geograph- ical proximity to Pearl Harbor, and is larger for educated men. We provide consistent evidence for Japanese Americans.
qiantab_2022317.pdf
We compare electoral outcomes under plurality rule versus ranked choice voting (RCV). Candidates compete by choosing platforms that can either mobilize their core supporters, or instead attract undecided voters. RCV exacerbates platform polarization in contexts of low voter engagement, strong partisan attachments, and imbalances in the candidates’ share of core supporters. RCV may increase or decrease voter turnout relative to plurality rule, and strong partisan attachments increase the likelihood that the winning candidate receives a minority of votes cast.
rcv_20220325.pdf