We study the mechanisms according to which social infrastructure influences the preservation of physical capital and, consequently, economic growth. The model considers that social infrastructure is a specific type of human capital, which acts in order to preserve already existing physical...

In this work we empirically test optimum currency area theory regarding the efficiency of two usual stabilization mechanisms for members of a given monetary union (the United States): federal transfers and migration. The US is recognized as a country where labor mobility between states is high....

Czech Republic, Hungary, and Poland are set to join the European and Monetary Union (EMU) in the near future. This paper offers a framework for the quantitative evaluation of the economic costs of joining the EMU. Using an open economy dynamic general equilibrium model with sticky prices, we...

Social capital has recently been introduced in the economic literature as a growth factor. In this paper we study the interactions between social and human capital, and their contributions to economic growth in an endogenous growth model. In particular, we are interested in comparing the results...

Denmark, Sweden, and the UK have repeatedly refused to join the European and Monetary Union (EMU). Surprisingly, there is very little work on the welfare consequences of the loss of monetary policy flexibility for these countries. This paper fills this void by providing a framework to evaluate...

Federal transfers in the USA comprises some components such as retirement and disability payments for individuals, other direct payments for individuals or organizations, grants, procurement contracts, and wages. It is recognized that one of the goals of federal transfers is to alleviate di¢...

We compare Europe with the USA and Canada as regards business cycle synchronization and core-periphery patterns. A long sample (1950-2005) makes it possible to study how these aspects have evolved over time. Results support the economic viability of EMU. Average cyclical correlations among...

Models of economic growth are typically based on the use of one or more stocks of productive assets to create goods for utility-generating consumption. The roles played by man-made capital, natural capital and human capital have been explored, often separately, in the literature, and more...

We address intertemporal utility maximization under a general discount function that nests the exponential discounting and the quasi-hyperbolic discounting cases as particular specifi?cations. The suggested framework intends to capture one important anomaly typically found when addressing the...

In this article we document the features of business cycles in German Länders from 1970 and 2007. Specifically, we answer the question if German Länders are becoming more synchronized or not. All results indicate that the synchronization of cycles is stronger inside the former Western Germany...