We analyze slave redemption programs—the buying of slaves to give them their freedom--in a simple matching model, i.e., under the assumption that it takes time to find slaves to buy or sell. Unlike in a supply and demand framework, where sufficiently large and effective redemption programs...

Namibia does not represent a case of structural adjustment, that is, a kind of economic reform in a situation of crisis with a high leverage of external actors (IMF, World Bank). Rather, the agenda for economic reform is set by the government, and addresses the problems of the high poverty and...

Product market reforms are structural reforms of microeconomic type that aim at improving the functioning of product markets by increasing competition amongst producers of goods and services. Theoretical models suggest that regulation and reforms which liberalise or improve the functioning of...

Since the collapse of the Soviet Union, the Romanian rural economy has undergone massive changes. Increased urban unemployment has stimulated migration from towns to rural areas. Meanwhile, rural industries that were subsidised under communism have collapsed, causing rural unemployment....

The formerly socialist countries in Central East Europe strive to close the development gap between their economies and those of the countries in West Europe. Their main vehicles in support of catch-up development featured the internal and external liberalisation of markets. Internal...

Recent studies have found evidence linking Africa’s current underdevelopment to colonial rule and the slave trade. Given that these events ended long ago, why do they continue to matter today? I develop a model, exhibiting path dependence, that explains how these past events could have lasting...

This paper examines the changing pattern of technological specialization of the four small, newly industrializing economies (NIEs) from East Asia as they move up the economic development ladder. In addition, the paper also investigates whether there is convergence or divergence between these...

The rural non-farm economy (RNFE) may be defined as comprising all those activities associated with waged work or self-employment in income generating activities (including income in-kind) that are not agricultural but which generate income (including remittances etc.) rural areas. In some...

This paper investigates how the distribution of land property rights affects industrial take-off and aggregate income through the demand side. We study a stylized two sectors economy where the manufacturing sector is assumed to be constituted by a continuum of small markets producing distinct...