It can be argued that just as there are different kinds of literacy, there are different kinds of illiteracy. A proximate illiterate, i.e. an illiterate who has easy access to a literate person, is clearly better off than someone without such access. The existing literature that takes account of...

[Introduction] South Africa is unlikely to feature at the top of the agenda at any international dialogue on food security. The country is a net exporter of agricultural commodities and has a high per capita income, even for an emerging economy. There are no tight foreign-exchange constraints,...

[Introduction ...] Following this introduction, Section 2 presents the conceptual framework on food security that guides this study, and offers succinct data on the three countries based on leading international measures. Section 3 offers a general presentation of the food-security policy...

We use an equilibrium search framework to model a formal- informal sector labour market where the informal sector arises endogenously. In our model large firms will be in the formal sector and pay a wage premium, while small firms are characterised by low wages and tend to be in the informal...

Post-apartheid South Africa is facing three major economic problems: (1) slack economic growth, (2) high and growing unemployment and (3) among the world's highest income inequality and poverty indices. South Africa is currently caught in a macro-economic straight-jacket of tight monetary,...

There is a well-known debate about the roles of geography versus institutions in explaining the long-term development of countries. These debates have usually been based on cross-country regressions where questions about parameter heterogeneity, unobserved heterogeneity, and endogeneity cannot...

Das Konzept der Medical Savings Accounts als Instrument zur Finanzierung von Gesundheitssystemen hat in den letzten Jahren international Aufmerksamkeit erregt. In Deutschland wurde ein ähnliches Konzept für die Gesetzliche Rentenversicherung im Rahmen der "Riester Rente" diskutiert. Länder...

The world is experiencing its worst recession in 80 years. What started as US sub-prime financial turmoil has developed into the first global recession since the infamous 'Great Depression' of the early 1930s. However gloomy the perspectives for the very short term are, there will be a recovery...

This study focuses on the effect of public funding on internal R&D investment and on total innovation intensity on a cross-country comparative level. Using harmonised micro data from five different countries, this study analyzes the heterogeneity of the use of policy instruments. Applying a...