Social Organizations, Violence, and Modern Growth
研究精英阶层创立社会制度以缓解技术变革引发的社会动荡，通过1650-1830年英国济贫与社会动荡的面板数据，发现济贫显著减少社会失序，而社会不稳定抑制创新，创新又反过来促进济贫。
Social institutions were often founded by the elite to avoid social upheavals. Institutions helped mitigate the threat of violent social responses to labor-saving innovations. But their organizational forms were influenced by preexisting cultural and social factors. The differences in Chinese and English social institutions explain why England became the first modern economy. Using an English panel of poor relief and social unrest from 1650 to 1830, we document that poor relief was statistically significant in reducing social disorder. Social instability, in turn, negatively influenced innovations, while innovations were positively and significantly related to poor relief.