This paper analyses the evolution of electricity prices in deregulated markets. We present a general model that simultaneously takes into account the possibility of several factors: seasonality, mean reversion, GARCH behaviour and time-dependent jumps. The model is applied to equilibrium spot...

Developing countries are increasingly concerned about improving country competitiveness and productivity, as they face the increasing pressures of globalization and attempt to improve economic growth and reduce poverty. Among such countries, Investment Climate surveys (ICs) at the firm level,...

This paper studies the dynamic interactions and the spillovers that exist among patent application intensity, secret innovation intensity and stock returns of a well-defined technological cluster of firms. We study the differential behavior when there is an Innovation Leader (IL) and the rest of...

Government policies and behavior exert a strong influence on the investment climate through their impact on costs, risks and barriers to competition. Key factors affecting the investment climate through their impact on costs are: corruption, taxes, the regulatory burden and extent of red tape in...

Developing countries are increasingly concerned about improving country competitiveness and productivity, as they face the increasing pressures of globalization and attempt to improve economic growth and reduce poverty. Among such countries, Investment Climate Assessments (ICA) surveys at the...

Most empirical studies show strong detrimental evidence that regulatory, and administrative, barriers to entry have on productivity and on firm growth. In this paper we evaluate and measure the total factor productivity (TFP) impacts of having; low quality physical infrastructures (electricity,...

General-to-Specific (GETS) modelling has witnessed major advances over the last decade thanks to the automation of multi-path GETS specification search. However, several scholars have argued that the estimation complexity associated with financial models constitutes an obstacle to multi-path...

The Investment Climate surveys (ICSs) are valuable instruments which improve our understanding of the economic, social, political and institutional factors determining economic growth, particularly in emerging and transition economies. However, at the same time, they have to overcome some...

This paper provides a systematic, empirical assessment of the impact of infrastructure quality on the total factor productivity (TFP) of African manufacturing firms. This measure is understood to include quality in the provision of customs clearance, energy, water, sanitation, transportation,...

During the past two decades, innovations protected by patents have played a key role in business strategies. This fact enhanced studies of the determinants of patents and the impact of patents on innovation and competitive advantage. Sustaining competitive advantages is as important as creating...