In this paper we challenge Parente and Prescott's (1999) theoretical framework, which establishes that unions use their control of "work practices" to thwart the efficient use of technology in the firms. We argue instead that unions, despite endowing monopoly rights over a technology, should...

This paper examines whether the different macroeconomic performances of the German economy in two post-war decades provide evidence for the theory (first advanced by Mancur Olson) that sharp institutional breaks are conducive to economic growth because they destroy the existing network of...

The paper describes and analyses a Scandinavian research project on trade union based development of, and training in, computer technology and work organization, especially text and image processing in the graphic industries, that was named UTOPIA and carried out between 1981 and 1986. UTOPIA...

This paper is devoted to the study of municipal diversity in retail and durables. Specifically, it analyzes how a region’s relative market-accessibility in a system (or hierarchy) of municipalities affects the extent of diversity. In the theoretical part of the paper a simple modelmunicipal...

Some replies to points raised by Tito Boeri, Susanna Camusso, Giancarlo Corsetti, and Giulio Napolitano in discussion of the book Controtempo: on the international scenario, dominated by macroeconomic global imbalances and by the need to manage the global financial risk with due circumspection;...

This article provides a succinct review of the arguments stressing the mutual relationship between institutions and economic performance, and a scholarly account of some of the most popular econometric strategies used to minimize reversed causality problems in impact estimation. Among the...

This paper argues that China's size was one reason behind its relative decline in the nineteenth century. A ruler governing a large country faces severe agency problems. Given his monitoring difficulties, his agents have strong incentives to extort the taxpayers. This forces him to keep taxes...

The effectiveness of Official Development Assistance is heavily debated. The emergence of new donors and the recent establishment of novel development actors, such as the BRICS-powered New Development Bank, will complement or substitute traditional financial flows and development cooperation....

Access to finance by the poor is a sine qua non for poverty reduction through economic development thereby driving inclusive growth which can further lead to sustainable growth. This study using adequate data covering pre and postliberalisation period from 1974-75 to 2007-08 in the Indian...