This paper examines whether national leaders influence economic growth, using exogenous variations in leadership—specifically, deaths of leaders while in office—as a natural experiment. The authors find robust evidence that leaders matter for growth, with the effects being strongest in autocratic settings where leaders have fewer constraints on power. Leaders appear to affect policy outcomes, particularly monetary policy, but have less impact in democratic settings. The results suggest that individual leaders can play crucial roles in shaping the growth of nations. The paper uses a dataset of national leaders from 1945 to 2000, focusing on 57 leader transitions where the leader died due to natural causes or accident. Growth data from the Penn World Tables are used to analyze the impact of these transitions. The analysis shows that changes in leadership are associated with sustained changes in growth rates, with a one standard deviation change in leader quality leading to a growth change of 1.5 percentage points per year. The study also finds that leaders have a more significant impact in autocratic regimes, where they are less constrained by institutions. In contrast, changes in democratic leaders do not appear to affect economic growth. The paper further examines the effects of leadership on various policy outcomes, finding substantial effects on monetary policy but weaker or ambiguous evidence for fiscal, trade, and security policies. The results suggest that political institutions play a crucial role in constraining leaders, with democracies being more effective in preventing harmful policies. However, the paper also highlights that leaders can still have a significant impact on economic outcomes, particularly in settings where institutions are weak. The study contributes to the broader literature on institutions and economic growth, showing that while political institutions matter, their impact is not deterministic. The paper concludes that leaders do matter, and their influence is particularly significant in shaping national economic growth.This paper examines whether national leaders influence economic growth, using exogenous variations in leadership—specifically, deaths of leaders while in office—as a natural experiment. The authors find robust evidence that leaders matter for growth, with the effects being strongest in autocratic settings where leaders have fewer constraints on power. Leaders appear to affect policy outcomes, particularly monetary policy, but have less impact in democratic settings. The results suggest that individual leaders can play crucial roles in shaping the growth of nations. The paper uses a dataset of national leaders from 1945 to 2000, focusing on 57 leader transitions where the leader died due to natural causes or accident. Growth data from the Penn World Tables are used to analyze the impact of these transitions. The analysis shows that changes in leadership are associated with sustained changes in growth rates, with a one standard deviation change in leader quality leading to a growth change of 1.5 percentage points per year. The study also finds that leaders have a more significant impact in autocratic regimes, where they are less constrained by institutions. In contrast, changes in democratic leaders do not appear to affect economic growth. The paper further examines the effects of leadership on various policy outcomes, finding substantial effects on monetary policy but weaker or ambiguous evidence for fiscal, trade, and security policies. The results suggest that political institutions play a crucial role in constraining leaders, with democracies being more effective in preventing harmful policies. However, the paper also highlights that leaders can still have a significant impact on economic outcomes, particularly in settings where institutions are weak. The study contributes to the broader literature on institutions and economic growth, showing that while political institutions matter, their impact is not deterministic. The paper concludes that leaders do matter, and their influence is particularly significant in shaping national economic growth.