Why societies cooperate, innovate, and prosper
Using historical and cross-cultural evidence, I study how kinship and social structure shape institutions, psychology, and economic development.
I am Associate Professor of Economics at George Mason University and Co-PI of the Historical Psychology Project at Harvard. In 2023 I received the Royal Economic Society Prize.
Research
Published & Forthcoming
Accepted Pre-registered Reports
Working Papers & Under Review
Work in Progress
Media & Press
Selected coveragePodcast · Game Changer
The Marriage Penalty: How the Church Rewired Cooperation Networks
A conversation on kinship, cooperation, and the deep roots of Western psychology — listen now ↗
Cultural Diversity and Innovation — Journal of Political Economy
Santa Fe Institute · YouTube
Talk: Cultural Diversity and Innovation
2024
Forbes
Immigration and Diverse Populace Made America an Innovation Superpower
2023
Marginal Revolution
How Cultural Diversity Drives Innovation
2025
The Church, Intensive Kinship & Global Psychological Variation — Science 2019
Washington Post
How Medieval Catholicism Explains Differences Between Cultures
2019
The Economist
Medieval Catholicism Nudged Europe Towards Democracy
2019
New York Times
Christian Past, Secular Present
2019
NPR
Western Individualism May Have Roots in the Medieval Church
2019
Scientific American
Western Individualism Arose from Incest Taboo
2019
Frankfurter Allgemeine Zeitung
Was die Kirche mit unserem Charakter zu tun hat
2019
The Moral Machine Experiment — Nature 2018
The Economist
Whom Should Self-Driving Cars Protect in an Accident?
2018
The New Yorker
A Study on Driverless-Car Ethics Offers a Troubling Look into Our Values
2018
Washington Post
Self-Driving Cars Will Have to Decide Who Should Live and Who Should Die
2018
BBC
Driverless Car Dilemmas Reveal Value Placed on Humans Worldwide
2018
MIT Technology Review
Should a Self-Driving Car Kill the Baby or the Grandma?
2018
The Guardian
Who Should AI Kill in a Driverless Car Crash?
2018
Intrinsic Honesty and Rule Violations — Nature 2016
Wall Street Journal
The Global Appeal of Rationalizing Little Lies
2016
The Atlantic
Corruption Corrupts
2016
Der Spiegel
In korrupten Staaten wird mehr geschummelt
2016
Guilt- and Shame-Driven Prosociality — Nature Human Behavior 2025
ARD Tagesschau
Wie prosoziales Handeln gefördert wird
2025
BR
Studie: Wie prosoziales Handeln gefördert wird
2025
Social Norms and Dishonesty — PNAS 2022
Contact
Academic Address
jschulz4@gmu.edu
Department of Economics
George Mason University
Fairfax, VA 22030, USA