On the basis of an overview of theoretical and empirical studies on central banks’ independence, the paper assesses the independence of the central banks of the former USSR republics including the RF, as well as those of East European countries. An analysis of the potential existence of a...

The voter - bureaucrat is locked into a situation of a conflict of interests: as a conscientious citizen, he or she should support optimal expenditure levels for providing certain public goods, but as a person whose wellbeing and career depend on the volume of expenditures for providing public...

Adam Smith pointed out public respect, prestige as significant component of compensation "for some employment" ("honorableness... of employment"). We assumed, the public moral sanction on success (Weber), public demand for "self-made man" should correlate positively with number of businessmen...

In the paper we provide short review of the main Israeli parties' positions on the key issues. The set of "key issues" is our choice and contains Judicial (legal system) reform, Judea and Samaria status, 2nd amendment right and self-defense, Taxation / spending etc. We provide formal...

The paper consists of reference materials on Family crisis. The problem (literature review) focused on number of the version explaining fall in fertility (birthrate) in the industrialized countries. Possibility to propose governmental policies efficiently encouraging giving birth among middle...

The present article traces the dynamics of the priorities chosen by leading leftist parties in Israel vis-a-vis the functions of the state. During the period of the British Mandate they, like all leftist parties, maintained anti-militaristic views. Leaders of the Left more than once accused...

The link between an introduction of the universal suffrage and the growth of government spending has been established in some literature (Meltzer, Richard, 1981, Aidt et al., 2006, Funk and Guthmann, 2006). In this article we try to identify a more detailed mechanism behind that link. So, we...

Can the absence of freedom of speech, a monopolized media market, and a politicized education create obstacles which will stand in the way of economic growth? The answer is an unambiguous Yes, and substantially. Partial, biased, or heteronomous mass media and an education turned into a...

“Improvements” in the mechanisms of democracy for making decisions about providing taxpayer-financed public goods can lead the economy in the same direction as authoritarianism. Such a by-product may be insignificant, but, even if so, a tradition of abridging democracy, similarly to an...

Historical data on US aid to Israel illustrates incentives of political leaders and special interests, first and foremost in Israel. As on the early stages of Alliance Israel military capabilities could provide valuable services to USA, undermining USSR influence in the Middle East, the current...