I am a PhD Candidate at IRES/LIDAM, UCLouvain. I am also part of the European Doctoral Program. My supervisor is David de la Croix.

My current research interests are economic history, human capital, and long-term growth.

I am visiting Northwestern University during Winter and Spring 2024.

Work in Progress

Early Modern Academies, Universities, and Economic Growth

Using a novel database of Early Modern scholars, I study the influence of innovative knowledge on European growth from 1500 to 1800. I exploit advanced DID estimators robust to heterogeneous treatment and staggered effects. Proxying economic development with city population, I find that the creation of scientific academies increases population growth rates by 15% after 150 years in cities hosting them, while humanistic academies have a no discernable positive effect on long-term growth. Moreover, I show that scientific academies rapidly enhance quality of universities in the same urban area. Overall, the paper provides the first evidence on the pivotal role of scientific academies in the economic growth of Europe, driving also the modernization of universities.