This paper examines different levels of wage moderation in EMU member states since the introduction of the euro. Most arguments examining wage restraint have done so relying on the assumptions that relations between EMU member states are symmetric and that wage-setting systems are similar across...

Research on the impact of innovation on regional economic performance in Europe has fundamentally followed three approaches: (1) the analysis of the link between investment in research and development (R&D), patents, and economic growth; (2) the study of the existence and efficiency of regional...

In this paper, a formal model for the relationship between innovation and growth in European Union regions is developed drawing upon the theoretical contribution of the systems of innovation approach. The model combines the analytical approach of the regional growth models with the insights of...

We use variation in oil output among Brazilian municipalities to investigate the effects of resource windfalls. We find muted effects of oil through market channels: offshore oil has no effect on municipal non-oil GDP or its composition, while onshore oil has only modest effects on non-oil GDP...

In this chapter, we aim to establish whether liberalization and accompanying regulatory arrangements have delivered the expected efficiency gains. In section I, we discuss the theoretical issues and demonstrate that ‘marketable’ yet simplistic arguments in favour of liberalization tend to...

The thesis collects four essays in the fields of competition and innovation economics. In chapter 1, we review the recent growth literature that analyses the effects of product market competition on growth. Contrary to the negative effect predicted by the early endogenous growth models, this...

Chapter 1 introduces the thesis providing an overview of the common themes and methods underlying this research. Chapter 2 reports an experiment that examines the characteristics of effective leaders in a leader-follower voluntary contributions game. We focus on two factors: leaders’...

The evaluation of economic forecasts is a substantial and important aspect of economic research, and a considerable part of such evaluation is performed by comparing competing forecasts. This thesis focuses on the development of statistical procedures in order that reliable comparison of...

In order to examine the optimum currency area case for EMU, we estimate structural VARs in output, the real exchange rate and prices for 14 EU countries and a small control sample. Using quarterly data since the end of bretton Woods, we find that (1) the data are strongly correlated for the...

Intellectual property (IP) regimes serve dual purposes: to provide incentives for the generation and commercialization of innovations and to foster dissemination and use of knowledge. An IP regime alone cannot maximize these two objectives simultaneously. After all, IP establishes incentives to...