In Colombia, Mexico, and Morocco, firms' past exposure to foreign knowledge through exports, imported imputs, and foreign direct investment does not help to predict current product quality or productive efficiency

Small states, no different from large states in income and growth, should receive the same policy advice large states do. Because of their greater openness, they may be more vulnerable to volatility in terms-of-trade shocks--but their openness pays off in growth

Ethnic diversity has a more adverse effect on economic policy and growth when a government's institutions are poor. But poor institutions have an even more adverse effect on growth and policy when ethnic diversity is high

One reason intermediate exchange rate regimes have fallen out of favor is that they are not transparent or easy to verify. A simple peg or a simple float may be easier for market participants to verify than a more complicated intermediate regime

The recent Asian currency crisis was caused by large prospective fiscal deficits associated with implicit bailout guarantees to failing banking systems. Absent the political will to raise taxes or cut spending, governments must resort to seignorage revenues to pay for the bailout of the banking...