We revisit a recently introduced agent model [ACS, 11, 99 (2008)], where economic growth is a consequence of education (human capital formation) and innovation, and investigate the influence of the agents’ social network, both on an agent’s decision to pursue education and on the output of...

We compute the macroeconomic rates of return of public and private investment implicit in a VAR for 14 European Union countries, Canada, Japan and the United States. Results point mostly to positive effects of public and private investment on output, whereas public investment crowds out private...

In this article, we analyse public sector efficiency in the new member states of the EU compared to that in emerging markets. After a conceptual discussion of expenditure efficiency measurement, we compute efficiency scores and rankings by applying a range of measurement techniques. The study...

We measure the performance of public spending in Italian regions regarding the provision of public services, by constructing a so-called total regional performance indicator for strategic sectors such as general administration, energy, water and sewage, solid waste, and transports for 2001. This...

Using ordered logit and probit plus random effects ordered probit approaches, we study the determinants of sovereign debt ratings. We found that the last procedure is the best for panel data as it takes into account the additional cross-section error.

We use a Three-Stage Least Square (TSLS) method and a system of equations to recursively estimate two components of fiscal policy - responsiveness and persistence - and to infer about the sources of fiscal deterioration (improvement). The results suggest that (i) government spending exhibits...

I use a panel of semi-annual vintages of growth and fiscal forecasts of the European Commission, covering the period 1998:II-2008:II, to assess its effects on 10-year government yields for 14 EU countries. Results show that yields increase with better growth forecasts and with decreases in...