This report summarises the findings of a study on the growth factors and growth prospects of the business services (BS)industry, applying an internationally comparative perspective. The report untangles factors behind the extraordinary growth of the BS industry during last decade,comparing it...

We show empirically that high-risk innovative sectors are relatively small in countries with strict employment protection legislation (EPL). To understand the mechanism, we develop a two-sector matching model where firms endogenously choose between safe and risky technology. Simulations with our...

The approach put forward in this article is based on Schumpeter`s idea of creative destruction, the competitive process by which entrepreneurs are always looking for new ideas that will render their rivals` ideas obsolete. I present a model in which the rate of economic growth is sensitive to...

Evolutionary and environmental economics have a potentially close relationship. This paper reviews past and identifies potential applications of evolutionary concepts and methods to environmental economics. This covers a number of themes: resource use and ecosystem management; growth and...

Greece's currently planned institutional reforms will help to get the country going with limited economic growth. With an economy based primarily on tourism, trade, and agriculture, Greece lacks an established competitive industry and an innovation-friendly environment, resulting in a low export...

The World Bank is uniquely positioned to identify and disseminate innovative development practices. Based on his thirty-year experience as a World Bank staff member, the author takes an institutional perspective on the innovation climate at the World Bank focusing on dominant development...

Italy has yet to recover from the economic consequences of the financial and sovereign debt crisis that began more than a decade ago. In addition to losing 1.4 million jobs across the manufacturing and construction sectors, new industries driving growth across the EU, such as knowledge-intensive...

Italien hat sich gut zehn Jahre nach der Finanz- und Staatsschuldenkrise nicht von deren wirtschaftlichen Folgen erholt. Verantwortlich sind zum einen die traditionellen Wachstumstreiber Italiens, nämlich das verarbeitende Gewerbe und der Bausektor, die beide einen Rückgang von jeweils 700 000...