糖心TV

Workshop organiser: Yannick Dupraz

The title is 'Economic Shocks and Temple Desecrations in Medieval India'.

Abstract :

Economic downturns can create conditions for mass uprisings that threaten an authoritarian

ruler. Religious authority can provide the ideological force needed to solve the collective
action problem that hinders a revolution. When co-option is infeasible, the ruler can respond
to economic shocks by suppressing the religious authority of the popular religion. In this paper
we provide empirical evidence of this response in medieval India. Using centuries of
geo-referenced data we document a positive relationship between weather fluctuations and
the destruction of Hindu temples under Muslim rule. Specifically, during periods of large
weather fluctuations the likelihood of a Muslim State desecrating a Hindu temple increases
by about 1 percentage point (relative to the baseline of 0.7%). We explore various mechanisms
that could drive the ruler鈥檚 response and show that regime stability is the likely explanation
for this relationship. The paper contributes to our understanding of the behaviour of
authoritarian regimes in diverse societies.

Job market paper: Capital Gains Taxes and Real Corporate Investment