Shows
GrowthChat by Marco Lecci and Sascha O. BeckerChat with Leah Boustan and Ran Abramitzky on America's Untold Story of Immigrant SuccessGrowthChat is a podcast on the social and cultural journey of humankind, hosted by Marco Lecci and Sascha O. Becker. In this episode we chat with Leah Boustan and Ran Abramitzky about their book "Streets of Gold: America's Untold Story of Immigrant Success’”. Immigration is one of the most fraught, and possibly most misunderstood, topics in American social discourse—yet, in most cases, the things we believe about immigration are based largely on myth, not facts. Using the tools of modern data analysis and ten years of pioneering research, new evidence is provided about the past and present of the Amer...
2022-08-2529 min
GrowthChat by Marco Lecci and Sascha O. BeckerChat with David Weil on Measuring Economic Growth from Outer SpaceGrowthChat is a podcast on the social and cultural journey of humankind, hosted by Marco Lecci and Sascha O. Becker. In this episode we chat with David Weil about his paper "Measuring Economic Growth from Outer Space’”. David and his co-authors, J. Vernon Henderson and Adam Storeygard, use nigh lights from satellite data as a proxy for GDP measure. As an application, they examine growth in Sub Saharan African regions over the last 17 years. They find that real incomes in non-coastal areas have grown faster by 1/3 of an annual percentage point than coastal areas; non-malarial areas have grown faster than m...
2022-07-2825 min
GrowthChat by Marco Lecci and Sascha O. BeckerA Chat with Johan Fourie on Our Long Walk to Economic FreedomGrowthChat is a podcast on the social and cultural journey of humankind, hosted by Marco Lecci and Sascha O. Becker. In this episode we chat with Johan Fourie about his book "Our Long Walk to Economic Freedom: Lessons from 100,000 Years of Human History", published by Cambridge University Press. Our Long Walk to Economic Freedom is an entertaining and engaging guide to global economic history told for the first time from an African perspective. In thirty-five short chapters Johan Fourie tells the story of 100,000 years of human history spanning humankind's migration out of Africa to the Covid-19 pandemic. His unique...
2022-07-1927 min
Growth Chat | Marketing PodcastEpisode 9 (Mini): Personal Development & Productivity for Growth MarketersNote: (Mini) episode pulled from Episode 2 (Full) which is our Full Growth ChatPro hack: listen at 1.2-1.5x speedWelcome to Growth Chat! On this show we chat about Growth Marketing with expert operators who are in the trenches everyday growing & scaling startups & growth phase companies. Growth Marketing is a fast paced industry so stay up to speed & join the Growth Chat community!Like, this episode & want to join the Growth Chat community? Head over to https://growthchat.substack.com/ & sign up for our free newsletter. Also, be first to know when...
2022-06-171h 45Growth Chat | Marketing PodcastEpisode 8 (Mini): Ultimate Guide to Performance Max (Google Ads New Campaign Type)Note: (Mini) episode pulled from Episode 2 (Full) which is our Full Growth ChatPro hack: listen at 1.2-1.5x speedWelcome to Growth Chat! On this show we chat about Growth Marketing with expert operators who are in the trenches everyday growing & scaling startups & growth phase companies. Growth Marketing is a fast paced industry so stay up to speed & join the Growth Chat community!Like, this episode & want to join the Growth Chat community? Head over to https://growthchat.substack.com/ & sign up for our free newsletter. Also, be first to know when...
2022-06-1141 minGrowth Chat | Marketing PodcastEpisode 7 (Full): Guide to Performance Max (Google Ads) & Personal DevelopmentPro hack: listen at 1.2-1.5x speedWelcome to Growth Chat! On this show we chat about Growth Marketing with expert operators who are in the trenches everyday growing & scaling startups & growth phase companies. Growth Marketing is a fast paced industry so stay up to speed & join the Growth Chat community!Like, this episode & want to join the Growth Chat community? Head over to https://growthchat.substack.com/ & sign up for our free newsletter. Also, be first to know when we drop our exclusive Growth Chat.Want to work with us? Feel free...
2022-06-091h 18Growth Chat | Marketing PodcastEpisode 6 (Mini): Scaling Google Ads When Budgets Aren't CappedNote: (Mini) episode pulled from Episode 1 (Full) which is our Full Growth ChatWelcome to Growth Chat! On this show we chat about Growth Marketing with expert operators who are in the trenches everyday growing & scaling startups & growth phase companies. Growth Marketing is a fast paced industry so stay up to speed & join the Growth Chat community!Like, this episode & want to join the Growth Chat community? Head over to https://growthchat.substack.com/ & sign up for our free newsletter. Also, be first to know when we drop our exclusive Growth Chat.Want...
2022-06-0620 minGrowth Chat | Marketing PodcastEpisode 5 (Mini): Expert Approved Tips to Working with Google Ads RepsNote: (Mini) episode pulled from Episode 1 (Full) which is our Full Growth ChatWelcome to Growth Chat! On this show we chat about Growth Marketing with expert operators who are in the trenches everyday growing & scaling startups & growth phase companies. Growth Marketing is a fast paced industry so stay up to speed & join the Growth Chat community!Like, this episode & want to join the Growth Chat community? Head over to https://growthchat.substack.com/ & sign up for our free newsletter. Also, be first to know when we drop our exclusive Growth Chat.Want...
2022-06-0215 minGrowth Chat | Marketing PodcastEpisode 4 (Mini): 80/20 Rule Applied to Growth MarketingNote: (Mini) episode pulled from Episode 1 (Full) which is our Full Growth ChatWelcome to Growth Chat! On this show we chat about Growth Marketing with expert operators who are in the trenches everyday growing & scaling startups & growth phase companies. Growth Marketing is a fast paced industry so stay up to speed & join the Growth Chat community!Like, this episode & want to join the Growth Chat community? Head over to https://growthchat.substack.com/ & sign up for our free newsletter. Also, be first to know when we drop our exclusive Growth Chat.Want...
2022-05-3115 minGrowth Chat | Marketing PodcastEpisode 3 (Mini): Ultimate Tips for Responsive Search Ads (RSAs) in Google AdsNote: (Mini) episode pulled from Episode 1 (Full) which is our Full Growth ChatWelcome to Growth Chat! On this show we chat about Growth Marketing with expert operators who are in the trenches everyday growing & scaling startups & growth phase companies. Growth Marketing is a fast paced industry so stay up to speed & join the Growth Chat community!Like, this episode & want to join the Growth Chat community? Head over to https://growthchat.substack.com/ & sign up for our free newsletter. Also, be first to know when we drop our exclusive Growth Chat.Want...
2022-05-2829 minGrowth Chat | Marketing PodcastEpisode 2 (Mini): When Multiple Products Can Share Same Keywords in Paid SearchNote: (Mini) episode pulled from Episode 1 (Full) which is our Full Growth Chat Welcome to Growth Chat! On this show we chat about Growth Marketing with expert operators who are in the trenches everyday growing & scaling startups & growth phase companies. Growth Marketing is a fast paced industry so stay up to speed & join the Growth Chat community!Like, this episode & want to join the Growth Chat community? Head over to https://growthchat.substack.com/ & sign up for our free newsletter. Also, be first to know when we drop our exclusive Growth Chat.Want...
2022-05-2631 minGrowth Chat | Marketing PodcastWelcome to the Growth Chat!Welcome to Growth Chat! On this show we chat about Growth Marketing with expert operators who are in the trenches everyday growing & scaling startups & growth phase companies. Growth Marketing is a fast paced industry so stay up to speed & join the Growth Chat community!Note: We record a (Full) Growth Chat & than cut each Chat into (Mini) episodes for your convince. Like, this show & want to join the Growth Chat community? Head over to https://growthchat.substack.com/ & sign up for our free newsletter. Also, be first to know when we drop our exclusive Growth...
2022-05-2500 minGrowth Chat | Marketing PodcastEpisode 1 (Full): Tips to Scale Paid Search (Google Ads) from Expert OperatorsWelcome to Growth Chat! On this show we chat about Growth Marketing with expert operators who are in the trenches everyday growing & scaling startups & growth phase companies. Growth Marketing is a fast paced industry so stay up to speed & join the Growth Chat community!Like, this episode & want to join the Growth Chat community? Head over to https://growthchat.substack.com/ & sign up for our free newsletter. Also, be first to know when we drop our exclusive Growth Chat.Want to work with us? Feel free to send us a message on LinkedIn. Our LinkedIn...
2022-05-251h 51
GrowthChat by Marco Lecci and Sascha O. BeckerA Chat with Alessio Terzi on Growth for GoodGrowthChat is a podcast on the social and cultural journey of humankind, hosted by Marco Lecci and Sascha O. Becker. In this episode we chat with Alessio Terzi about his book "Growth for Good: Reshaping Capitalism to Save Humanity from Climate Catastrophe". Economic growth is wrecking the planet. It’s the engine driving climate change, pollution, and the shrinking of natural spaces. To save the environment, will we have to shrink the economy? Might this even lead to a better society, especially in rich nations, helping us break free from a pointless obsession with material wealth that only benefits the...
2022-05-1928 minGrowthChat by Marco Lecci and Sascha O. BeckerA Chat with Mark Koyama and Jared Rubin on how the world became richGrowthChat is a podcast on the social and cultural journey of humankind, hosted by Marco Lecci and Sascha O. Becker. In this episode we chat with Mark Koyama and Jared Rubin about their book "How the World Became Rich: the historical origins of economic growth". Most humans are significantly richer than their ancestors. Humanity gained nearly all of its wealth in the last two centuries. How did this come to pass? How did the world become rich? Mark Koyama and Jared Rubin dive into the many theories of why modern economic growth happened when and where it did. They dis...
2022-05-0256 minGrowthChat by Marco Lecci and Sascha O. BeckerA Chat with Oded Galor on the Journey of HumanityGrowthChat is a podcast on the social and cultural journey of humankind, hosted by Marco Lecci and Sascha O. Becker. In this episode we chat with Oded Galor about his book "The Journey of Humanity: The Origins of Wealth and Inequality". Oded, in a captivating journey from the dawn of human existence to the present offers an intriguing solution to two of humanity’s great mysteries. A landmark, radically uplifting account of our species' progress from one of the world's pre-eminent thinkers - with breakthrough insights into the power of diversity and our capacity to tackle climate change.
'C...
2022-03-0441 min
GrowthChat by Marco Lecci and Sascha O. BeckerA Chat with Timur Kuran on the Peaceful Explosion of Rights in Ottoman IstanbulGrowthChat is a podcast on the social and cultural journey of humankind, hosted by Marco Lecci and Sascha O. Becker. In this episode we chat with Timur Kuran about his paper "Economic Harbingers of Political Modernization: Peaceful Explosion of Rights in Ottoman Istanbul”. Timur, looking at the Ottoman empire, explores the conditions under which fundamental rights expand without major resistance allowing radical institutional reforms in a peaceful context.
2021-12-1745 min
GrowthChat by Marco Lecci and Sascha O. BeckerA Chat with Melissa Dell on the Persistent Effect of Peru’s Mining MitaGrowthChat is a podcast on the social and cultural journey of humankind, hosted by Marco Lecci and Sascha O. Becker. In this episode we chat with Melissa Dell about her paper "The Persistent Effect of Peru’s Mining Mita”. Melissa examines the long-run impacts of the Mita, an extensive forced mining labor system in effect in Peru and Bolivia between 1573 and 1812. She finds that a Mita effect lowers household consumption by around 25% and increases the prevalence of stunted growth in children by around 6 percentage points in subjected districts today.
2021-11-1521 min
GrowthChat by Marco Lecci and Sascha O. BeckerA Chat with Elias Papaioannou on Pre-Colonial Ethnic Institutions and Contemporary African DevelopmentGrowthChat is a podcast on the social and cultural journey of humankind, hosted by Marco Lecci and Sascha O. Becker. In this episode we chat with Elias Papaioannou about his paper "Pre-Colonial Ethnic Institutions and Contemporary African Development’”. Elias and his co-author, Stelios Michalopoulos, investigate the role of deeply rooted pre-colonial ethnic institutions in shaping comparative regional development within African countries. They find a strong positive association between pre-colonial political complexity and contemporary development
2021-10-2227 min
GrowthChat by Marco Lecci and Sascha O. BeckerA chat with Raul Sanchez de la Sierra about the Origins of the StateGrowthChat is a podcast on the social and cultural journey of humankind, hosted by Marco Lecci and Sascha O. Becker. In this episode we chat with Raul Sanchez de la Sierra about his paper "On the Origins of the State: Stationary Bandits and Taxation in Eastern Congo’”. Raul, in his paper, finds that armed actors may create “essential functions of a state” to better expropriate, which, depending on their goals, can increase welfare.
2021-08-1734 min
GrowthChat by Marco Lecci and Sascha O. BeckerA chat with Stelios Michalopoulos about the long-run effects of the ‘Scramble for Africa’GrowthChat is a podcast on the social and cultural journey of humankind, hosted by Marco Lecci and Sascha O. Becker. In this episode we chat with Stelios Michalopoulos about his paper "The long-run effects of the ‘Scramble for Africa’”. Stelios and his co-author, Elias Papaioannou, look into the effect imposed borders had on splitting ethnicities across countries in Africa. they find that colonial border designs have spurred political violence and that ethnic partitioning is systematically linked to civil conflict, discrimination by the national government, and instability.
2021-07-1928 min
GrowthChat by Marco Lecci and Sascha O. BeckerA chat with Paola Giuliano on the Origins of Gender RolesGrowthChat is a podcast on the social and cultural journey of humankind, hosted by Marco Lecci and Sascha O. Becker. In this episode we chat with Paola Giuliano about her paper "On the Origins of Gender Roles: Women and the Plough”. Paola and her co-authors, Alberto Alesina and Nathan Nunn, study the historical origins of existing cross-cultural differences in beliefs and values regarding the appropriate role of women in society. They test the hypothesis that traditional agricultural practices influenced the historical gender division of labor and the evolution of gender norms. They authors find that the descendants of societies that...
2021-06-0918 min
GrowthChat by Marco Lecci and Sascha O. BeckerA chat with Gupta Bishnupriya on India’s Transition from a Colonial EconomyGrowthChat is a podcast on the social and cultural journey of humankind, hosted by Marco Lecci and Sascha O. Becker. In this episode we chat with Gupta Bishnupriya about her paper "Falling Behind and Catching up — India’s Transition from a Colonial Economy”. Gupta study how India fell behind during colonial rule. Inadequate investment in agriculture and consequent decline in yield per acre stalled economic growth. Modern industries emerged and grew relatively fast. The reversal began after independence. Policies of industrialization and a green revolution in agriculture increased productivity in agriculture and industry.
2021-05-2320 min
GrowthChat by Marco Lecci and Sascha O. BeckerA chat with Leonard Wantchekon about the Slave Trade and the Origins of Mistrust in AfricaGrowthChat is a podcast on the social and cultural journey of humankind, hosted by Marco Lecci and Sascha O. Becker. In this episode we chat with Leonard Wantchekon about his paper "The Slave Trade and the Origins of Mistrust in Africa”. Leonard and his co-author, Nathan Nunn, study why the current differences in trust levels within Africa can be traced back to the transatlantic and Indian Ocean slave trades. Combining contemporary individual-level survey data with historical data on slave shipments by ethnic group, they find that individuals whose ancestors were heavily raided during the slave trade are less trusting today
2021-05-2335 min
GrowthChat by Marco Lecci and Sascha O. BeckerA chat with Sara Lowes on the Legacy of Colonial Medicine in Central AfricaGrowthChat is a podcast on the social and cultural journey of humankind, hosted by Marco Lecci and Sascha O. Becker.
In this episode we chat with Sara Lowes about her paper "The Legacy of Colonial Medicine in Central Africa”. Sara and her co-author study how the delivery of health aid can be jeopardised by distrust at the local level. Using evidence from French military campaigns in Cameroon and former French Equatorial Africa they show that a significant reason for this distrust may be aid recipients’ historical experiences of colonial medical campaigns. This is having a huge impact, worseni...
2021-04-2818 min
GrowthChat by Marco Lecci and Sascha O. BeckerA chat with Davide Ticchi about the Political Economy of Science, Religion, and GrowthGrowthChat is a podcast on the social and cultural journey of humankind, hosted by Marco Lecci and Sascha O. Becker. In this episode we chat with Davide Ticchi about his paper "Forbidden Fruits: The Political Economy of Science, Religion, and Growth”. Davide and his co-authors study the coevolution of religion, science and politics and they find a negative relationship between religiosity and patents per capita. They categorized three different regimes and outcomes. Western-European Secularization regime has declining religiosity, unimpeded science, and high taxes and transfers. The Theocratic regime involves knowledge stagnation, unquestioned dogma, and high religious-public-goods spending. The American regi...
2021-04-1634 min
GrowthChat by Marco Lecci and Sascha O. BeckerA chat on Maritime Technology and Development in the 20th century with Luigi PascaliGrowthChat is a podcast on the social and cultural journey of humankind, hosted by Marco Lecci and Sascha O. Becker. In this episode we chat with Luigi Pascali about his paper "The Wind of Change: Maritime Technology, Trade, and Economic Development”. Luigi finds that the introduction of the steamship in the shipping industry produced an asymmetric change in trade distances among countries. Before this invention, trade routes depended on wind patterns. The steamship reduced shipping costs and time in a disproportionate manner across countries and trade routes. He also argues that only a small number of countries, characterized by more...
2021-04-1524 min
GrowthChat by Marco Lecci and Sascha O. BeckerA chat with Melanie Xue about the impact of "Folklore" on culture and economicsGrowthChat is a podcast on the social and cultural journey of humankind, hosted by Marco Lecci and Sascha O. Becker.
In this episode we chat with Melanie Xue about her paper "Folklore”. Melanie and her co-author, Stelios Michalopoulos, focus their research on Folklore, interpreted as the collection of traditional beliefs, customs, and stories of a community passed through the generations by word of mouth. They find that societies with tales portraying men as dominant and women as submissive tend to relegate their women to subordinate positions in their communities, both historically and today. More risk-averse and less ent...
2021-04-0217 min
GrowthChat by Marco Lecci and Sascha O. BeckerA chat on the Invention of Agriculture with Andrea MatrangaGrowthChat is a podcast on the social and cultural journey of humankind, hosted by Marco Lecci and Sascha O. Becker. In this episode we chat with Andrea about his paper "The Ant and the Grasshopper: Seasonality and the Invention of Agriculture”. Andrea finds that the invention and adoption of agriculture were both a response to a large increase in climatic seasonality. In the most affected regions, hunter-gatherers abandoned their traditional nomadism in order to store food and smooth their consumption. Their new sedentary lifestyle greatly simplified the invention and adoption of agriculture. Seasonality patterns 10,000 years ago were amongst the major...
2021-03-2249 min
GrowthChat by Marco Lecci and Sascha O. BeckerA chat with Jeanet Bentzen about pre-reformation roots of the protestant ethicGrowthChat is a podcast on the social and cultural journey of humankind, hosted by Marco Lecci and Sascha O. Becker. In this episode we chat with Jeanet Bentzen about her paper "Pre-reformation roots of the protestant ethic”. Jeanet uses an earlier example, of the Cistercian Catholic Order, to show that religious values did influence productivity and economic performance in England and across Europe. The effect of this historic influence has persisted to today. Paper link: DOI: https://doi.org/10.1111/ecoj.12367Learn more about Jeanet: https://web2.econ.ku.dk/bentzen/Follow Jeanet Bentzen on Twitter: https://twitter.com/JeanetBentzenFollow Growth...
2021-03-1219 min
GrowthChat by Marco Lecci and Sascha O. BeckerA chat on Religiosity and Education in the 19th Century with Mara SquicciariniGrowthChat is a podcast on the social and cultural journey of humankind, hosted by Marco Lecci and Sascha O. Becker. In this episode we ask Mara Squicciarini about her paper “Devotion and Development: Religiosity, Education, and Economic Progress in 19th-century France”, published in the American Economic Review in 2020. In her study, Mara finds that more religious locations had lower economic development after 1870. Schooling appears to be the key mechanism: more religious areas saw a slower adoption of the technical curriculum and a push for religious education. In turn, religious education was negatively associated with industrial development 10 to 15 years later.
2021-02-1619 min