Productivity is the main factor holding back long-term economic growth in Italy. Since the second half of the 1990s, productivity growth has been feeble both by historical standards and compared with the other main euro area countries. Understanding the reasons for such a performance and finding...

We incorporate structural modellers into the economy they model. Using the traditional moment-matching method, they ignore policy feedback and estimate parameters using a structural model that treats policy changes as zero probability (or exogenous) "counterfactuals." Estimation bias occurs...

The research on the structure of macroeconomic metamodels began in 1976 and included the development of the archetypes, 10-year scenarios and their validation for three periods until the structures were validated. The goal was to find the drivers of economic growth and sustainability. It...

We compare trends in mortality, nutritional status and food supply to other living standard indicators for the early years of the Nazi period. We find that Germany experienced a substantial increase in mortality rates in most age groups in the mid-1930s, even relative to those of 1932, the worst...

For nearly three decades, China has achieved an economic miracle. China's official GDP per capita increased almost tenfold, from about US$150 in 1978 to US$1,449 in 2005. China's growth measured by the purchasing power parity (PPP) has been even more impressive. The GDP per capita in terms of...