This paper examines whether the export decision of firms is affected by their ownership structure, specifically it looks at whether family control is an obstacle to entering foreign markets. The underlying assumption is that family firms are risk averse. Risk aversion may be an obstacle to...

We use a Ricardo-Viner model to study the determinants of the supply of outmigration in developing countries in a model with heterogenous households. We assume that heterogeneity and migration costs prevent households from total migration. Data are calibrated to two archetypal developing...

Globalization is not only about the rise of trade, FDI, and migration. It is also about the changing linkages among these flows. The main findings of this Paper can be summarized as follows. First, at least in the 1990s, import trade liberalization fostered not only trade but also inward...

We look at the role of the financial sector in the context of the relatively backward regions of Southern Italy (the so-called Mezzogiorno). Commercial banks in the South typically have higher operating costs and charge higher interest rates than Northern banks. Econometric analysis on a large...

Foreign aid has been on a downward trend since at least the early eighties. Despite the commitments of donor governments, the GDP share of foreign aid for DAC countries has fallen to slightly more than 0,2% in the early part of this decade. The purpose of this paper is to explore the macro...

As part of their effort to pool individual risk, households consider spreading their members over a plurality of locations, both inside and outside their country of origin. At the same time, the world is ridden with ‘Chinatowns’ and ‘Little Italies’: people, whenever they move, tend to...

The World Bank and the International Monetary Fund play a key role in the international economic architecture. Yet, they are also ‘political’ institutions and their activities inevitably respond to the national interest of one or a group of shareholders. Assessing the role of...

Policy makers in migrant-receiving countries must often strike a delicate balance between economic needs, that would dictate a substantial increase in the number of foreign workers, and political and electoral imperatives, that typically result in highly restrictive immigration policies....

The paper identifies the potential sources of allocative inefficiency generated by the Multi-Fiber Agreements (MFA) and examines the evidence for such inefficiencies. Five sources of inefficiency are identified relating to inefficient allocations across countries, across consumers, and among...

We assess the impact on emigration flows of trade liberalization in a sending country. The paper adopts a case study approach focusing on Morocco, which is well suited for the purpose in hand as it has been a substantial provider of migrants to Europe and has recently undergone a fairly...