This paper provides new evidence on the stochastic behaviour of the EPU (Economic Policy Uncertainty (EPU) index constructed by Baker et al. (2016) in six of the biggest economies (Canada, France, Japan, US, Ireland, and Sweden) over the period from January 1985 to October 2019. In particular,...

The new growth literature, using both endogenous growth and neoclassical models, has generated strong claims for the effect of national policies on economic growth. Empirical work on policies and growth has tended to confirm these claims. This paper casts doubt on this claim for strong effects...

In this paper, I discuss the reasons for Costa Rica's economic performance over the last quarter of a century. Three complementary sets of policies (investments in human capital, careful stabilization, and an intelligent and aggressive integration into the world economy) explain the successful...

This paper analyses macroeconomic aspects of exit from aid-dependence. By 'exit from aid', we mean substantial and enduring decline over time in Official Development Assistance (ODA) as a share of Gross Domestic Product (GDP). The relevant macroeconomic variables are identified by systematically...

We are increasingly cognizant of the limits to large cross-country empirical studies in trying to understand in-depth a particular country reality, in ways useful for advice. At the same time, merely relying on a single country account at a particular point in time ignores the historical and...

This paper briefly introduces the special preferential economic policies implemented by the Chinese government in ethnic minority areas. For statistical comparison and analysis, the authors divide China into ethnic minority economic zones and non ethnic minority economic zones. In some analyses,...

Numerical exercises we have performed indicate that when one operates a country as a slavery system, the slaves would end up barely subsisting, whereas the masters could live affluently.What might North Korea do to achieve prolonged economic progresses? The followings appear to be the bare...

This chapter provides a review of China’s economic growth since 1978. Studying China’s economic success may shed new light on the political economy of growth, the impacts of the ascent of large countries on the rest of the world, and the relationship between inequality and economic growth....

The Thai economy has been underperformed during the last decade. The average annual GDP growth during 2007-2016 was merely 3.2 percent. Not only was this growth rate one of the lowest among all of the economies in Southeast Asia, it was also far below what Thailand experienced during the...

This paper analyses macroeconomic aspects of exit from aid-dependence. By 'exit from aid', we mean substantial and enduring decline over time in Official Development Assistance (ODA) as a share of Gross Domestic Product (GDP). The relevant macroeconomic variables are identified by systematically...