Title: Can democratic reforms promote political activism? Evidence from the Great Reform Act of 1832 (with Gabriel Leon-Ablan)

Abstract: Activists play a key role in the process of democratic transition and consolidation.

How is their activism affected by democratic reforms? We study how local activism responded to

the changes in representation introduced by Britain’s Great Reform Act. This reform

removed all parliamentary representation from some areas; other areas gained

representation for the first time. We exploit exogenous variation in which areas lost

and gained representation and measure activism using the number of petitions each area

sent to parliament. We find that petitioning increased in areas that gained representation,

partly because of greater civil society mobilization. We also find that petitioning fell in

areas that lost representation. This shows that pro-democratic reforms can promote political

activism, while anti-democratic reforms can decrease it. In the case of Britain, there

could have been positive feedback between activism and reform, making democratization a

path-dependent process and the Great Reform Act its critical juncture.

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Title: "Suez".

Abstract: For all its importance, we lack a comprehensive quantitative assessment of the Suez Canal’s opening in 1869. We find that it led to a 72% relative increase in bilateral exports for affected country pairs, potentially suggesting a 12% permanent increase in world trade. We also consider the composition of trade, finding that Suez led to large, concentrated changes in export shares and increased the extensive margin of exports. Finally, shipping cost calculations show that the relative cost of using steamships fell dramatically and immediately after 1869, pointing to a vital role for Suez in the diffusion of steam technology.

Title: Traumatic Financial Experiences and Persistent Changes in Financial Behavior: Evidence from the Freedman's Savings Bank 

Abstract: The failure of the Freedman's Savings Bank (FSB), one of the only Black-serving banks in the early post-bellum South, was an economic catastrophe and one of the great episodes of racial exploitation in post-Emancipation history. It was also most Black Americans' first experience of banking. Can events like these permanently alter financial preferences and behavior? To test this, we examine the impact of FSB collapse on life insurance-holding, an accessible alternative savings vehicle over the late 19th and early 20th centuries. We document a sharp and persistent increase in insurance demand in affected counties following the shock, driven disproportionately by Black customers. We also use FSB migrant flows to disentangle place-based and cohort-based effects, thus identifying psychological and cultural scarring as a distinct mechanism underlying the shift in financial behavior induced by the bank's collapse. Horizontal and intergenerational transmission of preferences help explain the shock’s persistent effects on financial behavior.

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