Historical Antisemitism, Ethnic Specialization, and Financial Development

Francesco D'Acunto, Marcel Prokopczuk (), Michael Weber and Michael Weber
Authors registered in the RePEc Author Service: Michael Weber

No 6643, CESifo Working Paper Series from CESifo

Abstract: For centuries, Jews in Europe have specialized in financial services. At the same time, they have been the victims of historical antisemitism on the part of the Christian majority. We find that present-day financial development is lower in German counties where historical antisemitism was higher, compared to otherwise similar counties. Households in counties with high historical antisemitism have similar savings rates but invest less in stocks, hold lower bank deposits, and are less likely to get a mortgage-but not to own a house-after controlling for wealth and a rich set of current and historical covariates. Present-day antisemitism and supply-side forces do not appear to fully explain the results. Present-day households in counties where historical antisemitism was higher express lower trust in finance, but have levels of generalized trust similar to other households.

Keywords: cultural economics; intergenerational transmission of norms; religious identity; household finance; history & finance (search for similar items in EconPapers)
JEL-codes: D91 G11 J15 N90 Z10 Z12 (search for similar items in EconPapers)
Date: 2017
New Economics Papers: this item is included in nep-his
References: View references in EconPapers View complete reference list from CitEc
Citations: View citations in EconPapers (1)

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Related works:
Journal Article: Historical Antisemitism, Ethnic Specialization, and Financial Development (2019)
Working Paper: Historical Antisemitism, Ethnic Specialization, and Financial Development (2017)
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Persistent link: https://EconPapers.repec.org/RePEc:ces:ceswps:_6643

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