We study the underground economy in a dynamic and stochastic general equilibrium framework. Our model combines limited tax enforcement with an otherwise standard two-sector neoclassical stochastic growth model. The Bayesian estimation of the model based on Italian data provides evidence in favor...

This paper applies 'Business Cycle Accounting' methodology introduced by Chari, Kehoe and McGrattan (2002a) to the UK economy. In particular, I examine the cyclical episode from 1979 to 1989. The chosen method enables me to decompose fluctuations in aggregates to isolate the effects...

Venture capital (VC) investment has long been conceptualized as a local business, in which the VC's ability to source, syndicate, fund, monitor, and add value to portfolio firms critically depends on their access to knowledge obtained through their ties to the local (i.e., geographically...

The objective of the paper is to contribute to an explanation of Russia's economic decline during its transition to capitalism. The authors argue that, to an important degree, the dismal performance of the Russian economy stems from the overall vision underpinning the transition to capitalism,...

This paper derives a set of policy lessons for Portugal from the new fiscal framework including a fiscal policy council that gradually emerged in Sweden after the deep economic crisis of the early 1990s. By now, Swedish public finances stand out among the strongest in Europe. Recent Swedish...

From its early post-war catch-up phase, Germany's formidable export engine has been its consistent driver of growth. But Germany has almost equally consistently run current account surpluses. Exports have powered the dynamic phases and helped emerge from stagnation. Volatile external demand, in...

The volume collects the essays presented at the 15th Workshop on Public Finance organised by Banca d'Italia in Perugia from 4 to 6 April 2013. The workshop focused on the link between fiscal policy and macroeconomic imbalances and comprised four sessions. The first session concentrated on the...

In Portugal, as in most other European Union (EU) countries, the challenge of Economic and Monetary Union (EMU) has worked as a mechanism for economic stabilisation. However, the political consensus on the participation in EMU did not develop with respect to the need for implementing structural...

Turkey featured a somewhat paradoxical evolution in income distribution between 1994 and 2005. During 1994-2002 (marked by the 2000-2001 financial crisis), growth was pro-poor in the sense that the income of the poor decreased less than the income of the well-off. Between 2002 and 2005, the...

Ireland's economic development since the late 1980s has been remarkable: From languishing at the bottom of the EU to one of the top spots in income capita. It is thus not strange that the Irish "miracle" has attracted much attention among the New Member States in Eastern Europe. Some...