Please use this identifier to cite or link to this item: https://hdl.handle.net/10419/37532 
Year of Publication: 
2010
Series/Report no.: 
Beiträge zur Jahrestagung des Vereins für Socialpolitik 2010: Ökonomie der Familie - Session: History Matters No. D3-V3
Publisher: 
Verein für Socialpolitik, Frankfurt a. M.
Abstract: 
Do Empires affect human values and behavior long after their demise? In several Eastern European countries, communities on both sides of the long-gone border of the Habsburg Empire have been sharing common formal institutions for 90 years now. We exploit this geographic discontinuity in a regression-discontinuity design with country fixed effects using data of individuals living inside a restricted band around the former border. We find that historical Habsburg affiliation increases current social capital and trust and reduces corruption in several public services. Past formal institutions can leave a legacy through cultural norms even after generations of common statehood.
Subjects: 
Institutions
social capital
trust
corruption
Habsburg Empire
regression discontinuity
JEL: 
N33
D73
Z10
Document Type: 
Conference Paper

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