"In this paper we evaluate what economists have learned over the past 40 years about the determinants of crime. We base our evaluation on two kinds of evidence: an examination of aggregate data over long time periods and across countries, and a critical review of the literature. We argue that...

"Many countries appear to have excessively stable big business sectors, in that higher rates of big business turnover have been correlated with faster economy growth. Public policies that stabilize big business sectors are sometimes justified as supportive of social objectives. We find no...

Attempts to understand the causes of chronic poverty have largely centred on the concept of the poverty trap. In this perspective, the main focus is on the paucity of initial wealth or endowments, which under certain plausible conditions can create a trap from which a poor person will find it...

Based on Amartya Sen's groundbreaking work on capabilities and functionings, static poverty measures have long used non-income indicators. In contrast, measures of poverty dynamics, including chronic poverty, have in general conceptualized poverty only in an income dimension. Hence, this paper...

This paper develops a conceptual framework for understanding the role of intergenerational transfers in the intergenerational transmission of poverty, provides empirical evidence on key aspects of intergenerational transfers, and discusses the role of public policy in helping the poor accumulate...