We study the relationship between gerontocracy and aggregate economic performance in a simple model where growth is driven by human capital accumulation and productive government spending. We show that less patient lites display the tendency to underinvest in public education and productive...

Over the last six decades, economic developments in the three countries that were defeated in World War II look strikingly similar. First came rapid reconstruction. Then followed the economic miracles of the Golden Age. The years that went from the first oil shock to the mid-1990s still saw...

The growth patterns of service sectors across France, Germany, and the US exhibit striking differences. This can explain most of the well-known differences in aggregate growth rates of labour productivity and employment across these countries. Having confirmed this observation by a shift-share...

The East Asian miracle was real. Prior to the 1997 economic and currency crises, Asian NICs --Hong Kong, Korea, Singapore and Taiwan-- achieved remarkable annual GDP growth. In these countries the overall economic performance was significantly determined by the industrial development triggered...

With the rapid development of China’s economy, the problem of environmental pollution has become increasingly serious. Given that China’s current environmental quality threatens its long-term sustainable economic development, certain attention must be paid to curb environmental pollution in...

The rule of law, by securing civil and economic rights, directly contributes to social prosperity and is one of our societies’ greatest achievements. In the European Union (EU), the rule of law is enshrined in the Treaties of its founding and is recognised not just as a necessary condition of...