@techreport{NBERw14595,
 title = "Learning the Wealth of Nations",
 author = "Francisco J. Buera and Alexander Monge-Naranjo and Giorgio E. Primiceri",
 institution = "National Bureau of Economic Research",
 type = "Working Paper",
 series = "Working Paper Series",
 number = "14595",
 year = "2008",
 month = "December",
 URL = "http://www.nber.org/papers/w14595",
 abstract = {We study the evolution of market-oriented policies over time and across countries. We consider a model in which own and neighbors' past experiences influence policy choices, through their effect on policymakers' beliefs. We estimate the model using a large panel of countries. We find that there is a strong geographical component to learning, which is crucial to explain the slow adoption of liberal policies during the postwar period. Our model also predicts that there would be a substantial reversal to state intervention if nowadays the world was hit by a shock of the size of the Great Depression.},
}