The European Union (EU) provides grants to disadvantaged regions of member states to allow them to catch up with the EU average. Under the Objective 1 scheme, NUTS2 regions with a GDP per capita level below 75% of the EU average qualify for structural funds transfers from the central EU budget....

We examine the dynamic macroeconomic effects of public infrastructure investment both theoretically and empirically, using a novel data set we compiled on various highway spending measures. Relying on the institutional design of federal grant distributions among states, we construct a measure of...

In generating fast economic growth, China is also generating growing concern about its environmental record. Using 2000-2009 data, we find that, while spending on environmental infrastructure has visible positive environmental impact, city spending is strongly tilted towards transportation...

Gravity models of international trade have been frequently applied to estimate the impact of common (official or spoken) language on bilateral trade. This study provides a meta-analysis based on 701 language effects collected from 81 academic articles. On average, a common (official or spoken)...

Desde el año 2004 el Ministerio de Hacienda publica anualmente el Marco Fiscal de Mediano Plazo (MFMP) en el cual se presentan las proyecciones oficiales sobre ingresos y gastos del gobierno central para los siguientes diez años. Como es de esperar, dichas proyecciones están sujetas a altos...

This paper investigates the impact of fiscal policy on profits using panel data for 19 high-income OECD countries during the period 1975-1999. We estimate a profit equation in which profits depend on a set of fiscal variables. Our empirical method is based on a consistent treatment of the...

This paper contributes to the debate about fiscal multipliers by studying the impacts of government investment in conventional neoclassical growth models. The analysis focuses on two dimensions of fiscal policy that are critical for understanding the effects of government investment:...

Researchers, commentators, and politicians have devoted steadily more attention to infrastructure in response to claims that inadequate accumulation of public capital has contributed to substandard U.S. economic growth. Despite this, the link between infrastructure and productivity growth...

La prestación de los servicios de infraestructura en zonas aisladas y marginadas es un desafío importante en cualquier país ya que la alta dispersión de la población eleva los costos de prestación, y la baja capacidad de pago dificulta su financiamiento. En Colombia, estas dificultades se...

"El propósito de este documento es, precisamente, elaborar dicho diagnóstico y formular una serie de reomendaciones para logar el fortalecimiento de las instituciones encargadas de la regulación y la supervisión de las empresas proveedoras de servicios públicos en Colombia. Este...