The emerging European economies have been converging rapidly towards the more advanced European economies in recent years. However, large external imbalances in parts of the region have raised questions about sustainability and concerns about vulnerabilities. Empirical evidence in this paper...

This paper explores the role of public expenditure in fostering inclusive growth. It starts with a presentation of salient features of public expenditure. Then, it lays out an analytical framework that describes the channels through which public expenditure affects inequality and poverty in the...

This paper examines economic growth and various dimensions of regional disparities in Slovakia. We find that regional disparities in the levels of GDP per capita, labor productivity, and labor utilization have widened since 2000, coinciding with the time that Slovakia initiated negotiations on...

There is world-wide convergence in life expectancy, despite little convergence in GDP per capita. If one values longer life much more than material happiness, the world living standards may this have already converged substantially. This paper introduces the concept of the dynastic general...

Contents -- I. INTRODUCTION -- II. METHODOLOGY AND DATA -- III. DYNAMIC FACTORS AND EPISODES OF BUSINESS CYCLES -- IV. SOURCES OF BUSINESS CYCLE FLUCTUATIONS: 1960-2005 -- V. GLOBALIZATION AND THE EVOLUTION OF INTERNATIONAL BUSINESS CYCLES -- VI. SENSITIVITY EXPERIMENTS -- VII. CONCLUSION --...

Contents -- I. INTRODUCTION -- II. THEORETICAL LITERATURE AND EMPIRICAL EVIDENCE -- III. THEORETICAL MODEL -- IV. DATA SOURCES AND VARIABLE CONSTRUCTION -- V. ESTIMATION METHODOLOGY AND RESULTS -- VI. CONCLUSIONS -- APPENDIXES