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Time for Growth

Lars Boerner & Battista Severgnini

American Economic Journal: Macroeconomics2026https://doi.org/10.1257/mac.20230039article
AJG 4ABDC A*
Weight
0.50

Abstract

This paper investigates the adoption, diffusion, and long-run impact of the public mechanical clock, one of the most important high-technology machines in history, on European economic growth and development. We avoid endogeneity by considering the relationship between the adoption of such clocks and an instrumental variable based on the appearance of repeated solar eclipses. Solar eclipses triggered a medieval cultural movement in which people sought to understand the motion of stars and clocks, which resulted in astronomic instruments and symbols of prestige. We find a significant increase in population, especially between 1500 and 1700, in early adopter cities. (JEL J11, N13, N33, N73, O31, O33)

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https://doi.org/https://doi.org/10.1257/mac.20230039

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@article{lars2026,
  title        = {{Time for Growth}},
  author       = {Lars Boerner & Battista Severgnini},
  journal      = {American Economic Journal: Macroeconomics},
  year         = {2026},
  doi          = {https://doi.org/https://doi.org/10.1257/mac.20230039},
}

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Time for Growth

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Evidence weight

0.50

Balanced mode · F 0.40 / M 0.15 / V 0.05 / R 0.40

F · citation impact0.50 × 0.4 = 0.20
M · momentum0.50 × 0.15 = 0.07
V · venue signal0.50 × 0.05 = 0.03
R · text relevance †0.50 × 0.4 = 0.20

† Text relevance is estimated at 0.50 on the detail page — for your query’s actual relevance score, open this paper from a search result.