We examine associations of mass media and information and communicationstechnologies (ICT) as knowledge-based infrastructures on some economicdevelopment outcomes. We .nd that several mass media and ICT penetration variablesare negatively associated with three development outcomes: corruption,...

This paper develops a monopolistic competition model with heterogeneous firms tostudy the interaction between technology adoption and trade in a world of two countriesfacing different technology adoption costs. It shows that a reduction in the technologyadoption cost in one country increases the...

Iannaccone’s (1991) seminal paper assigns basic market principles to the market for religion. Ina competitive market with high religious diversity the level of overall religiosity should increase. TheSecularization Hypothesis suggests that the establishment of new churches casts doubt on the...

This study validates a survey-based measure of general risk attitude by an incentivecompatible experiment among more than 900 participants in rural Thailand. The surveymeasure of self-assessed risk attitude provides a useful approximation of the experimentallyderived risk attitude. This holds...

In Africa’s least developed countries (LDCs), escape from poverty and convergence to livingstandards of more advanced economies depends critically on structural transformation and theemergence of productive entrepreneurship that would accelerate growth and job creation. So far,however,...

This paper studies the impact of product and labor market regulations on informality andunemployment in a general framework where formal and informal firms are subject to thesame externalities, differing only with respect to some parameter values. Both formal andinformal firms have monopoly...

This paper examines the effect of global transition to simpler, flatter income tax systems onthe size of the shadow economy. By offering a new estimation framework, the paper revivesthe traditional electricity consumption approach to measuring the shadow economy. Itovercomes the limitations of...

Using micro-level data, we examine the effects of Russia`s 2001 flat rate income tax reformon consumption, income, and tax evasion. We use the gap between household expendituresand reported earnings as a proxy for tax evasion with data from a household panel for 1998-2004. Utilizing...

Is the Chinese growth miracle - a remarkably high growth rate sustained for over twodecades - likely to persist or are the seeds of its eventual demise contained in the policiesthat have boosted growth? For all its presumed flaws, the particular approach tomacroeconomic and structural policies...

Channeling human resources into the right occupations has historically been a key toeconomic prosperity. Occupational choices are not only driven by the material rewardsassociated with the various occupations, but also by the esteem that they confer...