This paper introduces new data on the term in office of central bank governors in 137 countries for 1970-2004. Our panel models show that the probability that a central bank governor is replaced in a particular year is positively related to the share of the term in office elapsed, political and...

We examine the effect of political 'institutions' on economic growth volatility, using data from more than 100 countries over the period 1960 to 2005, taking into account various control variables as suggested in previous studies. Our indicator of volatility is the relative standard deviation of...

Chapter 1 of the report discusses the immediate macroeconomic outlook for the global economy, with a particular focus on the European situation. Chapter 2 focuses on Switzerland, and specifically on the lessons that Europe can learn from the Swiss experience in maintaining cohesion while...

This chapter identifies the factors that led to imbalances in the euro area, which resulted in the current balance-of-payments crisis. The chapter also discusses how rebalancing might be achieved, and how fiscal policy could accelerate this process.

This chapter investigates two of the most widely debated aspects of US fiscal and financial integration: (1) the responsibility of the federation for state-level debts and for the creditworthiness of states; and (2) the working of a federal central bank. Today’s fiscal federalism in the United...

This chapter examines the interactions between the different institutional characteristics of labour markets in Europe, and the impact of the current recession on their unemployment structure and dynamics. Section 3.2 sketches the wide variety of unemployment experiences across countries in...

Authors of the Report on the European Economy 2013