I have some suggestions for how we can do gender history with greater empiricism and openness www.ggd.world/p/getting-re...

gonna be honest a lot of feminist historians say "women were respected authorities in the home and the family" in the same way that twitter chuds think their grandparents were a matriarchy because the grandmother was in charge of family lunch

Some feminist historians tell us that Aztec women were respected authorities, But women's life was one of relentless drudgery, spending 5 hours just grinding maize for her family's tortilla needs. Wild how the people who bemoan women's unpaid care today would minimise this in the past!!

Feminist historians often urge us to recognise women's agency, subversion and hidden powers But do such narratives risk creating a rose-tinted patriarchy, Downplaying the reality of imperial militarism and back-breaking drudgery? Case in point: the Aztecs! t.co/g6Mbbvt1sf

Feminist historians often urge us to recognise women's agency, subversion and hidden powers But do such narratives risk creating a rose-tinted patriarchy, Downplaying the reality of imperial militarism and back-breaking drudgery? Case in point: the Aztecs! t.co/g6Mbbvt1sf

What's breaking the market for love? Southern Africa has made major strides towards gender equality, but it has very high rates of unintended pregnancies and single motherhood. Why is this? www.ggd.world/p/whats-brea...

When do men provide devotion? If we think like economists, we might consider the market for love. Men supply devotion if they want female companionship and she insists on devotion as the price of intimacy But both of these can break down, and then he does not bother www.ggd.world/p/whats-brea...

What's breaking the market for love? Southern Africa has made major strides towards gender equality, but it has very high rates of unintended pregnancies and single motherhood. Why is this? www.ggd.world/p/whats-brea...

Sandsynligt 👇 "Modernisation thus unleashes something once suppressed by patriarchy: a fundamental mismatch in men and women’s preferences. For this reason, female emancipation is good for women’s welfare, but whether it increases long-run aggregate GDP really depends on men’s reactions. "

“For the first time in history, East Asian women seized the means of persuasion.”

Is Female Emancipation Good for Growth? www.ggd.world/p/how-does-f...

Is Female Emancipation Good for Growth? My new essay explores the economic consequences of rising female employment and feminist persuasion... www.ggd.world/p/how-does-f...

Did Colonialism Help or Hinder African Patriarchs? In my new essay, I introduce the colonial-patriarchal compromise and women's resistance www.ggd.world/p/did-coloni...

Did Colonialism Help or Hinder African Patriarchs? In my new essay, I introduce the colonial-patriarchal compromise and women's resistance www.ggd.world/p/did-coloni...

India's diamond industry is built on jati endogamy - finds Kaivan Munshi. Endogamy creates dense webs of obligation, improving information flows & reducing commitment problems. Jatis create trust partly by raising daughters to marry preferred grooms, and stay put, enduring any abuse.

Patriarchy doesn't just puff up men's egos, it also enables men to extract rents. My essay digs into abuse in Southern Rhodesia, India's diamond industry, and Britain's old boys clubs. www.ggd.world/p/patriarcha...

Patriarchy doesn't just puff up men's egos, it also enables men to extract rents. My essay digs into abuse in Southern Rhodesia, India's diamond industry, and Britain's old boys clubs. www.ggd.world/p/patriarcha...

Sub-Saharan Africans often valued 'wealth in people'. Women were especially valued, constituting the majority of slaves within Africa and commanding higher slave prices. Patriarchs then extracted rents by controlling that labour. www.ggd.world/p/are-queen-...

“Trawling through the primary sources, I realise that even when societies are given the maximum score for ‘female power’, they may still be extremely violent and patriarchal, whereby girls may be pawned, enslaved, genitally cut or otherwise expected to submit. It’s time for a corrective.”

Female Power for Whom? Queen mothers, pawned girls, and the limits of the Standard Cross Cultural Sample www.ggd.world/p/female-pow...

Female Power for Whom? Queen mothers, pawned girls, and the limits of the Standard Cross Cultural Sample www.ggd.world/p/female-pow...

Why Are Sub-Saharan Africa's Earliest States now Epicenters of Terrorism? My latest essay explores argues that early rulers embraced Islam, but states were too weak to overcome ethnic divisions. Jihadis now turns those old grievances into righteous, holy war. www.ggd.world/p/why-are-su...

Why Are Sub-Saharan Africa's Earliest States now Epicenters of Terrorism? My latest essay explores argues that early rulers embraced Islam, but states were too weak to overcome ethnic divisions. Jihadis now turns those old grievances into righteous, holy war. www.ggd.world/p/why-are-su...

Crudely, there are 3 kinds of society: - Seclusion patriarchies - Fraternal patriarchies, and - Gender equality For more details on Option 2, please see my latest essay on the Chinese civil service www.ggd.world/p/will-femal...

I would very much like to be friends with the people who understand the symbolism in this painting I edited... Made to illustrate Xiaoxia Huang's new paper :-) www.ggd.world/p/will-femal...

I would very much like to be friends with the people who understand the symbolism in this painting I edited... Made to illustrate Xiaoxia Huang's new paper :-) www.ggd.world/p/will-femal...

Female education is over-rated. Sure, it's a necessary condition for women's advance, But in seclusion patriarchies, educated women may remain economically inactive While in fraternal patriarchies, women work but are blocked from joining the upper ranks. Awesome new paper on China 👇

When Cities Outrun the State www.ggd.world/p/when-citie...

When Cities Outrun the State www.ggd.world/p/when-citie...

What's the most under-rated driver of gender equality? (In praise of job-creating economic growth) www.ggd.world/p/whats-the-...

Trader Joe’s does not pay me to make promotional adverts, But… Here’s my latest centre piece, made with 2 small bunches that anyone can pick up in store. (Made with floral sponge, so everything stays in place)

Really clear account from @draliceevans.bsky.social of why economic growth matters to gender equality and how the stats we commonly use may not be telling us what we think

What's the most under-rated driver of gender equality? (In praise of job-creating economic growth) www.ggd.world/p/whats-the-...

gender historians may say things like, "before patriarchal religions, women were spirit mediums!!" 💪 my friend... are you referring to old women who prepared special offerings to spirits in rocks and trees? with no special status or capacity to influence others? 🫤

How can researchers study sexual violence in countries where governments suppress data? www.ggd.world/p/towards-a-...

Rose heist!

Thank you to You Gov for collaborating in a new survey on male violence in the US! www.ggd.world/p/fight-club...

The barriers to gender equality vary worldwide. www.economist.com/by-invitatio...

To speed up progress towards gender equality, it would help to cast aside Western centrism and tackle local obstacles. Me, for @economist.com www.economist.com/by-invitatio...

“One-size-fits-all approaches are unhelpful” when it comes to discussing women’s rights, argues Alice Evans in a guest essay

Thank you to @economist.com for publishing my essay on "what people get wrong about women's rights"! www.economist.com/by-invitatio...

The absolutely crucial lesson from world history is that male violence runs rampant unless it is constrained by strong states with effective deterrents My essay 👇 www.ggd.world/p/broken-sku...

For a brief sliver of human history, modern economies generated mass demand for skills. But for most of our past, power and prestige flowed to those who could command organised violence and achieve military might. www.ggd.world/p/broken-sku...

In 1400, Oxford had a population of 6,000 and about 6 killings a year. Triple that of London and York. Why was it so violent? Students got off with impunity, as they had clerical privileges! Nice evidence on institutions

Very cool stuff here. Especially for an institutionalist, governance nerd like myself.

Broken Skulls and the State! My latest essay discusses 4 fantastic new datasets on skeletons, cranial trauma, and coroners' records - from Prehistory, the Middle East, Andes, and Medieval England When did violence spike? And why? www.ggd.world/p/broken-sku...

The under-rated subplot in Bridgerton is that it’s as recent as 1813, but girls from elite families are still not sent to school like their brothers, yet kept at home. Cue a very bored Hyacinth, who is desperate to make her debut, then finds boys are actually disappointing

Within the humanities there’s been a tendency to focus on marginal dynamics But this can skew our attention from major drivers of human history If you look back at early writing, it was often to celebrate imperial conquests Our history is fundamentally about armed struggle between warlords.

Crudely, we can cluster societies into 3 kinds: - Male supremacy, impunity and female seclusion (Afhganistan) - Male supremacy, impunity, but women work (Russia, China, South Korea, Thailand) - Women organise politically and constrain male violence (Canada) My essay www.ggd.world/p/can-women-...