Firms in Kenya rely on technologies such as computers, cell-phones, and generators toovercome constraints associated with regulations, infrastructure, security, workforce,corruption, and finance. This study shows that such reliance has significant positive impactson productivity as measured by...

This research suggests that a Darwinian evolution of entrepreneurial spirit played asignificant role in the process of economic development and the dynamics of inequality withinand across societies. The study argues that entrepreneurial spirit evolved non-monotonicallyin the course of human...

The authors analyze the optimal replacement of assets under continuous and discontinuoustechnological change. They investigate the variable lifetime of assets in an infinite-horizonreplacement problem. Due to deterioration, the maintenance cost increases when the assetbecomes older. Because of...

This paper uses the adoption and invention of the spinning jenny as a test case to understandwhy the industrial revolution occurred in Britain in the eighteenth century rather than inFrance or India. It is shown that wages were much higher relative to capital prices in Britainthan in other...

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 emergence of new economic activities is the driving force of economic development. The development of such activities is often ‘lumpy’, manifesting itself in rapid growth of particular regions or sectors. Recognition of these facts requires a reorientation of the analytical frameworks...

We study cross-country differences in the aggregate production function whenskilled and unskilled labor are imperfect substitutes. We find that there is a skill biasin cross-country technology differences. Higher-income countries use skilled labormore efficiently than lower-income countries,...

Considerable controversy exists regarding the costs and benefits of growth in the meatpacking and processing industry in the rural Midwest. This study uses proprietary datafrom the Bureau of Labor Statistics’ Longitudinal Database (LDB) to investigate theeffects of this industry on social and...

We study long-run trends in market hours of work and employment shifts across economicsectors driven by uneven TFP growth in market and home production. We focus on thesubstitutions between market and home production and on the structural transformationbetween agriculture, manufacturing and...

This paper provides a firm-level empirical analysis on the ways in which corruption affects innovative activity. Particularly with respect to the African continent that is striving to reconcile with instability and poverty, this issue seems to be of utmost importance. Using a newly available...