Does faster economic growth increase pressure for democratic change, or reduce it? Using data for 154 countries for the period 1963-2007, the authors examine the short-run relationship between economic growth and moves toward and away from greater democracy. To address the potential endogeneity of economic growth, they use variation in precipitation, temperatures, and commodity prices...

This paper tests for gender discrimination by sending fake CVs to apply for entry-level jobs. Female candidates are more likely to receive a callback, with the difference being largest in occupations that are more female-dominated.

This paper estimates the impact of increased rainfall on traffic accident fatalities. This focus is motivated by two factors. First, in OECD countries, road traffic crashes are the leading cause of death for people aged 15-24. Second, the social welfare cost of traffic deaths is largely ignored in GDP calculations. If rainfall significantly affects traffic...

Using a dataset covering over 10,000 Australian primary school teachers and over 90,000 pupils, Leigh estimates how effective teachers are in raising students’ test scores from one exam to the next.

The release of the government’s security law proposals reveals that the Coalition’s approach still casts a long shadow, writes Andrew Leigh.