This paper presents a synopsis of the contextual conditions, factors and challenges under which the recent evolution of tax systems has taken place over the past three decades. The paper gives especial emphasis to the role of natural endowments, political economy, social structure and history,...

Cover -- Half Title -- Dedication -- Title Page -- Copyright Page -- Table of Contents -- Notes on the Contributors -- Introduction: Super-optimizing Analysis and India’s Industrial Policy -- Background and Trends -- Alternatives, Goals and Relations -- A Super-optimum Solution -- Finding...

There are significant weaknesses in some of the traditional justifications for assuming that aid will foster development. This paper looks at what the cross-national aid effectiveness literature suggests about effective aid, first in terms of promoting income growth and then for promoting other...

In "In Search of the Missing Resource Curse," Lederman and Maloney critically tackle the problem of whether the natural resource curse exists. The idea that countries rich in natural resources are "doomed" by the existence of their lucky endowment has been in the minds of economists for more...

The consensus among scholars and policy-makers that 'institutions matter' for development has led inexorably to a conclusion that 'history matters', since institutions clearly form and evolve over time. Unfortunately, however, the next logical step has not yet been taken, which is to recognise...

The paper explores the evolution of export diversification patterns along the economic development path. Using a large database with 156 countries over 19 years at the HS6 level of disaggregation (4,991 product lines), we look for action at the intensive and extensive margins. We find a...