Central bank independence is a common feature in advanced economies. Delegation of monetary policy to an independent central bank with a clear mandate for price stability has proven to be successful in keeping a check on inflation and providing a trusted currency. However, it is also a fact that...

"This paper analyzes the economic growth impact of organized political violence. First, the authors articulate the theoretical underpinnings of the growth impact of political violence in a popular model of growth under uncertainty. The authors show that, under plausible assumptions regarding...

Haiti's economic development has been held back by a history of civil conflict and violence. With donor assistance declining from its exceptional levels following the 2010 earthquake, and concessional financing growing scarce, Haiti must learn to live with tighter budget constraints. At the same...

This paper explores the conditions under which public spending could minimize violent conflict related to oil wealth. Previous work suggests that oil can lead to violent conflict because it increases the value of the state as a prize or because it undermines the state's bureaucratic penetration....

In this paper, the conditions under which the spending patterns of oil resources may mitigate the risk of violent domestic conflict are studied. Some recent research suggests that more government spending either in general or specifically in welfare and military may reduce the risk of civil...

This article analyzes the e ect of central bank independence on scal de cits. Previous literature nds a negative relationship between bank independence and de cits in OECD countries. No such relationship is found for developing countries. We argue that independent and conservative central...

New discoveries of oil and gas are projected to occur in poor countries with weak governance and political institutions. Are such countries at an increased risk of civil war? We argue that regime weakness has different characteristics, which influence whether natural resources moderate or...

Credit rating agencies have been an important determinant of countries' cost of capital in the last couple of decades. This paper studies the effect of the governance of modern central banks on the ratings assigned by the credit rating agencies Standard and Poor's and Moody's. Until recently,...

Exchange rate policy results not just from economic, but also from fundamentally political processes. This paper analyzes the propensity of policy makers to relax fixed exchange rate regimes by performing regular realignments. The argument is that when information is scarce as in transition...