The decisions of foreign investors on technical cooperation versus equity engagements and on the degree of ownership in FDI projects are likely to depend on their relative bargaining position vis-à-vis the host country. We perform negative binominal regressions by making use of a unique dataset...

We examine whether and under what circumstances World Bank and International Monetary Fund (IMF) programs affect the likelihood of major government crises. We find that crises are, on average, more likely as a consequence of World Bank programs. We also find that governments face an increasing...

This paper explores a wide range of cross-country determinants of life satisfaction exploiting a database of 90,000 observations in 70 countries. We distinguish four groups of aggregate variables as potential determinants of satisfaction: political, economic, institutional, and human development...

We argue that membership in specific international organizations (IOs) is an important determinant of foreign direct investment (FDI) inflows. To the extent that membership restricts a country from pursuing policies that are harmful to investors, it can signal reduced political risk. Using data...

We develop an index measuring the three main dimensions – prosecution, protection, and prevention – of the anti-trafficking policies of the governments of up to 180 countries over the 2000−2010 period. Overall, developed countries perform better than the rest of the world; compliance with...

We empirically analyze how other aid agencies, within and outside the United States, reacted to the Millennium Challenge Corporation (MCC). We find that positive signaling effects dominate possible substitution effects. Striving for MCC eligibility thus pays.

We argue that perceived fairness of the income generation process affects the association between income inequality and subjective well-being, and that there are systematic differences in this regard between countries that are characterized by a high or, respectively, low level of actual...

We investigate the effects of short-term political motivations on the effectiveness of foreign aid. Donor countries political motives might reduce the effectiveness of conditionality, channel aid to inferior projects, reduce the aid bureaucracy s effort, and change the power structure in the...

This paper introduces new data on the term in office of central bank governors in 137 countries for 1970-2004. Our panel models show that the probability that a central bank governor is replaced in a particular year is positively related to the share of the term in office elapsed, political and...

The study develops an index of globalization covering its three main dimensions: economic integration, social integration, and political integration. Using panel data for 123 countries in 1970-2000 it is analysed empirically whether the overall index of globalization as well as sub-indexes...