This article studies the symmetry in reactions of the Andean Community of Nations (CAN) economies to external shocks in order to analyze the group's evolution towards economic integration. The undertaking of a Monetary Union project in South America enhances the usefulness of evaluating shocks...

This article addresses the reactions of the Union of South American Nations (UNASUR) economies to external shocks. Unlike the existing economic integration projects, the UNASUR was conceived as a political alliance. Because the recent euro debt crisis con rmed the importance of political...

In this work, we use the VAR and space-state methodology to analyze how the recent developments in 20 European countries have modified the dynamics of structural shocks. Our results confirm a visible progress in (predominated output fluctuations) supply shocks convergence between the CEECs and...

Urbanization and poverty have a two-way relationship. Using fixed-effects regression andpanel data from household surveys, we estimate the effect of urbanization on welfare andpoverty of rural households in Vietnam. We find that urbanization tends to increaselandlessness of rural households and...

This paper provides a new approach to analyzing credit constraints by differentiating which of the household's production and consumption decisions are affected by credit constraints. It also provides a first attempt to estimate of the extent and determinants of credit constraints in the...

This paper aims at explaining differences in education between foster-children and the biological children of their new household by differences in return to education as suggested by the human capital investment model. Defining this return by the amount of the old-age support the care-givers...

From a sample of Asian countries over the period 1999-2007, this paper investigates the link between bank competition and economic development. In general, although banking market power has a U-shaped relationship with economic growth, banking market power tends to improve economic growth....

Recently, Asian and Latin American countries have been involved in a series of negotiations to liberalize trade and investment flows. This paper analyzes the potential impact of a Free Trade Agreement between countries of both regions, applying a world dynamic general equilibrium model (MIRAGE)....