We consider whether Sub-Saharan African (SSA) countries are mainly poor because they are governed worse than other countries, as suggested by recent studies on the supremacy of institutions. Our empirical results show that the supremacy of institutions does not hold. SSA countries appear to face...

There is surprisingly little macroeconomic empirical research which would support a presumed link between education and development. I identify three major reasons why it remains difficult to estimate the economic relevance of education as a determinant of growth and development. First, most...

Easterly has written a unique book about the international differences in the standard of living, which have never been larger in the history of mankind than today. What makes Easterly's book unique is the masterly mixture of four elements: a first-hand knowledge of developing countries, a...

We suggest a new way to quantify the growth effects of capital mobility. We find that for reasonable parameter values, capital mobility has a large impact on income growth.