Using panel data pertaining to large Polish (non-financial) firms this paper examines the determinants of employment change during the period 1996-2002. Paying particular attention to the asymmetry hypothesis we investigate the impact of own wages, outside wages, output growth, regional...

16 September 2005 In this paper we present a simple three-sector model explaining the structural change in employment, which is a modified version of Rowthorn-Wells (1987). We supplement the theoretical analysis with simple econometric tests, which illustrate how the modified Rowthorn-Wells...

Using data for post-communist economies (1989-2002), we examine the determinants of income inequality. We find a strong positive association between equality and tax collection but note that this relationship is significantly stronger under authoritarian regimes than under democracies. We also...

Economic hardship, agricultural policy reform and price developments have adversely affected incomes from agricultural production in Lithuania, and many farm households have accessed additional sources of income in the rural economy. In an analysis of recently collected survey data we find that...

This paper investigates the relative importance of three sets of factors – initial conditions, macroeconomic stabilisation and structural reforms – as determinants of growth in transition economies during the first 10 years. The paper has two main results. First, average growth over the last...

A positive link between progress in market-oriented reforms and cumulative growth has been recorded across transition countries. Some less reform-minded countries, however, have also grown strongly in recent years. This paper examines whether there is a robust causal impact of reforms on growth,...

The economies of central and eastern Europe and the former Soviet Union have traditionally been very energy intensive. Energy intensity (defined as energy use per GDP) has decreased in the course of transition, but progress has been uneven and most transition countries still use several times as...

Under the Kyoto Protocol, transition countries are expected to become important players in the emerging market for greenhouse gas emission reductions, as they can reduce emissions at a relatively low cost. However, the attractiveness of the region as a supplier of emission reductions will not...

Low-income households spend a substantial share of their income on utility services such as electricity, heating and water. The difficulty these socially vulnerable consumers have in affording further tariff increases is often used as an argument against tariff reform. However, detailed...