Does trade openness cause higher GDP per capita? Since the seminal instrumental variables (IV) estimates of Frankel and Romer [F&R](1999) important doubts have surfaced. Is the correlation spurious and driven by omitted geographical and institutional variables? In this paper, we generalize F&R's...

Von der volkswirtschaftlichen Abgabenquote wird - vor allem bei internationalen Vergleichen - auf die Belastung der Bürger mit Steuern und Sozialbeiträgen geschlossen. Wird die Abgabenbelastung der deutschen Volkswirtschaft in der von der OECD gewählten Abgrenzung unterschätzt? Ist das...

The paper provides a proof of consistency of the ridge estimator for regressions where the number of regressors tends to infinity. Such result is obtained without assuming a factor structure. A Monte Carlo study suggests that shrinkage autoregressive models can lead to very substantial...

In this paper we investigate the relationship between per capita income and foreign aid for a panel of 131 (alternatively 52) recipient countries over the period 1960 to 2006 by employing annual data and 5-year averages. Reliance on standard panel estimation techniques, such as 2-ways FE...

We assess quantitatively the effect of exogenous health improvements on output per capita. Our simulation model allows for a direct effect of health on worker productivity, as well as indirect effects that run through schooling, the size and age-structure of the population, capital accumulation,...

This paper empirically tests the predictions of the Malthusian theory with respect to both population dynamics and income per capita stagnation in the pre-Industrial Revolution era. The theory suggests that improvements in technology during this period generated only temporary gains in income...

This paper contains a critical assessment of the claim that nnp can be used for welfare comparisons. The analysis assumes that national accounts are comprehensive (in particular, “greened” by taking into account environmental amenities and natural resource depletion), but does not assume...