This research explores the determinants of human capacity for adaptation and the variation in its prevalence across regions and linguistic groups. It advances the hypothesis and establishes empirically that the evolution of the capacity for adaptation in the course of human history can be traced to the response of humans to the changes in the environment that generated a need for adjustment via the process of cultural evolution. Exploiting variations in the environmental changes that occurred in the course of historic migrations or were caused by the introduction of new crops during the Columbian Exchange, the research suggests that consistent with the predictions of the theory, individuals whose ancestors were subjected to a greater accumulated environmental changes are characterized by a higher propensity towards adaptation.

This research explores the origins of loss aversion and the variation in its prevalence across regions, nations and ethnic group. It advances the hypothesis and establishes empirically that the evolution of loss aversion in the course of human history can be traced to the adaptation of humans to the asymmetric effects of climatic shocks on reproductive success during the epoch in which subsistence consumption was a binding constraint. Exploiting regional variations in the vulnerability to climatic shocks and their exogenous changes in the course of the Columbian Exchange, the research establishes that consistent with the predictions of the theory, individuals and ethnic groups that are originated in regions marked by greater climatic volatility have higher predisposition towards loss-neutrality, while descendants of regions in which climatic conditions tended to be spatially correlated, and thus shocks were aggregate in nature, are characterized by greater intensity of loss aversion.

This research explores the origins of labour-leisure preference and the variation in its prevalence across regions and nations. It advances the hypothesis and establishes empirically that the evolution of predisposition towards labour and leisure in the course of human history can be traced to the adaptation of humans to the modes of production, characterized by the different return to effort in the long-run. Exploiting regional variations in the potential suitability for hunting and agriculture and their exogenous changes in the course of the Columbian Exchange, the research establishes that consistent with the predictions of the theory, individuals that are originated in regions marked by greater suitability for hunting have higher predisposition towards leisure, while descendants of regions in which agriculture was more productive are characterized by greater predisposition towards labour.

We test the hypothesis that the medieval Catholic Church’s marriage regulations – by dissolving existing clan-based kinship structures and creating far-reaching interconnected social networks – positively impact innovation. We show that regions that were exposed longer to the medieval Church have a population with more diverse social networks (as measured by the percentage of geographically distant Facebook friends) and also exhibit a higher number of patents per person. To get closer towards causal estimates, we implement a regression discontinuity design that exploits that the area of the Carolingian empire historically saw stricter marriage regulations and enforcement thereof. We consistently show that within contemporary countries there is a discontinuity along the border of the empire: just within the historical empire social networks are more diverse and the number of filled patents is higher compared to regions just outside the empire. Taken together our research suggests that the Church’s marriage regulations impact innovation up to today via its lasting impact on social networks.