One of significant and, at the same time, challenging research problems in Economics is measuring the social effect of economic growth (development). Economic growth should never be treated a goal per se. It is rational provided that it brings effects such as, generally speaking, an improvement...

Free Trade Agreements (FTAs) between the European Union (EU) and trade partners go far beyond mere elimination of tariffs to include such diverse issues as non-tariff barriers, competition legislation, investment protection, and more. Implementing such provisions requires deep institutional and...

According to the Washington Consensus, developing countries’ growth would benefit from reductions in barriers to trade. However, the empirical basis for judging trade reforms is weak. Econometrics are mostly ad hoc; results are typically not judged against models; policies are poorly measured;...