The disutility of work, often summarily described as effort, is a primal component of economic models of worker and consumer behavior. However, empirical applications that measure effort, especially those that assess the distribution of effort across known populations, are historically scarce....

This paper examines productivity dynamics and drivers for Pakistani firms listed in the stock exchange (publicly listed firms) over 2012-17. It relies on policy and outcome measures of integration in upstream merchandise and services sectors, to assess their impact on productivity downstream....

This paper evaluates the effect on firm-level export outcomes of the Cash Incentive Scheme for Exports program provided by the Government of Nepal. The analysis utilizes customs-level data for 2011-14, combined with information on the subsidy payments made to individual firms provided by the...

This paper analyzes the export performance of Polish manufacturing firms. It focuses on the extensive and intensive margins of exports, on the decision to enter export markets and the intensity of exports, given participation, examining price and non-price determinants of export performance. The...

Preferential trade agreements are growing in number and deepening in content by incorporating disciplines that go beyond market access. They increasingly encompass non-trade-related disciplines as diverse as intellectual property rights, environment laws, or labor market regulations. Moreover,...

This paper examines if and how deeper economic integration with high-income nations impacts industrial performance. It exploits Poland's accession to the European Union in 2004 as a source of variation in the degree of market integration with Germany. Using data on Polish manufacturing firms...

This paper investigates the determinants of price differences and market integration among Indonesian provinces, using data from retail cooking oil, rice and sugar markets during the period 1993-2007, and from wholesale maize and soybean markets during the period 1992-2006. The authors measure...

This paper examines the extent to which policy restrictions on foreign direct investment in the Indonesian service sector affected the performance of manufacturers over the period 1997-2009. It uses firm-level data on manufacturers' total factor productivity and the OECD's foreign direct...

Entering and successfully surviving in export markets is a costly process for firms. The process involves learning about the existence of foreign demand, "discovering" production costs of exportable goods, building up reputation, succeeding in product branding to reduce competitive pressures and...