Calendar

Title : "Caminante,sí  hay Camino: Networks in the First Transatlantic Migration,1492-1540 

Abstract : Between1492 and 1540, over 21,000 Spaniards moved to the Americas.  We study thepatterns of the first transatlantic migration (1492--1540) using a novelindividual-level dataset from archival and secondary sources. The recordsidentify each migrant’s origin locality, destination region, migration year,and occupation. We link each migrant to a new municipality dataset thatmeasures population, taxes, social structure, geography, and travel costs toSeville. We document sharp shifts in destinations as the imperial frontiermoved from the Caribbean to Tierra Firme, Mexico, and Peru, and we showthat aggregate migration rose in surges rather than smoothly.  Emigrationconcentrated in Castile and around Seville, the sole legal port of embarkation,and it concentrated in urban places. Networks shaped both the scale and thedirection of migration. Sending regions ``locked in'' very early. Places thatsent migrants in the 1490s and early 1500s kept sending far more migrantslater. Migrants also followed origin-specific pathways: they disproportionatelychose the same destinations, often sailed on the same ships, and relied on thesame notaries to contract passage. We interpret this early lock-in as theinteraction of contingency in the first expeditions, durable social ties withinSpain, and a strong institutional bottleneck that routed migration throughSeville.

Title : "PrivateInformation in the Family"

Abstract : Standard family models assume spouses share information. We challenge this with theoryand evidence from a new survey module in the Dutch LISS panel, where spousesindependently report knowledge of each other’s finances. Private information ispervasive: in 40% of couples, at least one partner lacks full knowledge of theother’s income. Using a mechanism design approach, we show thatconstrained-efficient allocations require no full revelation, and predict thatincome and consumption shares co-move only under imperfect information. LISSdata confirm this: the income-consumption relationship appears only amongpoorly informed couples, even after controlling for limited commitment.