Political corruption is a concern of many modern democracies. It weakens democratic institutions, restricts public services, and lowers productivity undermining economic development. Yet despite its importance, our understanding of what determines corruption is limited. This paper uses a novel...

Recent studies have emphasized the importance of the quality of politicians for good government and consequently economic performance. But if the quality of leadership matters, then understanding what motivates individuals to become politicians and perform competently in office becomes a central...

This paper examines whether access to information enhances political accountability. Based upon the results of Brazil's recent anti-corruption program that randomly audits municipal expenditures of federally-transferred funds, it estimates the effects of the disclosure of local government...

This study is concerned with the development of a theoretical model and its empirical application to the estimation of the interaction between firms and trade union in determining wages and employment. The focus is on analyzing the effects of unions? demands on the firm?s choice of factors of...

This paper investigates the process of adjustment in employment. A dynamic model is applied to a panel of six Tunisian manufacturing industries observed over the period 1971?96. The adjustment process is industry and time specific. The adjustment parameter is specified in terms of factors...

This paper investigates short and long-run effects of trade liberalization on employment and wages. Employment and wage equations are estimated using data (1971?96) for importable and exportable sectors in Tunisia. Causality tests show that causality is unidirectional. Wages strongly causes...