We evaluate explanations for why Germany grew so quickly in the 1950s. The recent literature has emphasized convergence, structural change and institutional shake-up while minimizing the importance of the post-war shock. We show that this shock and its consequences were more important than...

This study provides a unied growth theory to correctly predictthe initially negative and subsequently positive relationship between child mortalityand net reproduction observed in industrialized countries over the courseof their demographic transitions. The model captures the intricate...

The aim of this paper is to account for both the short-run uctuations and thevery-long run transformations induced by technological change in analysing long-rungrowth patterns. The paper investigates the possible imprint left by short-run uctuationson the long run dynamics by aecting the...

The paper contributes to the literature on the relation between structural changes indemand and supply and growth. We develop a macro{economic model with agent{basedmicro{foundations that articulates the links between production and organisational structureson the supply side, and the endogenous...

For over a decade, The Wall Street Journal and The Heritage Foundation, Washington's preeminent think tank, have tracked the march of economic freedom around the world with the influential Index of Economic Freedom. Since 1995, the Index has brought Smith's theories about liberty, prosperity and...

In this paper we question the consensus of using a binary crisisdefinition for empirical crisis models. We believe that the most severeshortcomings of the crisis models today are in the crisis definition rather than the explanatory variables ...

In this essay I review Sylvia Nasar’s long awaited new history of economics, Grand Pursuit. Idescribe how the book is an economic history of the period from 1850-1950, withdistinguished economists’ stories inserted in appropriate places. Nasar’s goal is to show howeconomists work, but also...

The Great War of 1914-18 constituted a major rupture for the economies of Europe in several respects. It marked the end of almost a century of uninterrupted economic growth. It ended a long period of near-universal currency stability, and set in motion a painful process of de-globalisation. It...

The paper examines challenges in effectively implementing the lender-of-last-resort function in the EUsingle financial market. Briefly highlighted are features of the EU financial landscape that could increaseEU systemic financial risk. Briefly described are the complexities of the EU’s...

This paper analyses the regulatory framework which applies to the determination of directors’remuneration in Europe and examines the extent to which European firms follow best practices incorporate governance in this area, drawing on an empirical analysis of the governance systems thatEuropean...