In this paper we aim at testing the inflation persistence hypothesis as well as modelling (using logistic smooth transition autoregressive, LSTAR, models) the long run behaviour of inflation rates in a pool of African countries. In order to do so, we rely on unit root tests applied to nonlinear...

Empirical applications of the Tullock contest model are rare, due in part to the non-observability of effort. This paper presents an application of the standard Tullock model in a setting where effort can be observed and explained. A simple contest model is used to predict levels of effort in...

This paper tests the view that the relation between unemployment and entrepreneurship is dynamic and possibly nonlinear. It performs Granger-causality tests and STAR-EXT estimation to assess the causality direction and the nonlinear nature of the relation for a set of OECD countries. The results...

The place of agriculture in the General Agreement on Tariffs and Trade (GATT) prior to 1986 is usually described in terms of either exclusion or exemption from general trading rules. This paper reevaluates the ‘exemption’ argument and its corollary that the Uruguay Round Agreement on...

Unit root tests are the starting point of most empirical time series research. This paper analyses the order of integration of oil prices taking into account the possibilities of nonlinearities in the deterministic components. Using an aggregate index for the price of oil, and applying Bierens...

Numerous studies have examined the relationship between income inequality and trade openness. This paper departs from previous work by considering a possible non-linear relationship between trade openness and inequality. The evidence is consistent with the idea of a Kuznets curve: inequality...

This paper presents a cyclical model for unemployment and entrepreneurship. The estimated periodicity of the cycles for the US, the UK, Spain and Ireland is between 5 and 10 years, and the orders of integration are smaller (greater) than 1 if the underlying disturbances are autocorrelated (white...

This paper compares the export performance of a sample of 119 foreign and local firms in Turkey, in 1994 and 1995, using descriptive statistical techniques. It also examines the role of foreign direct investment (FDI) by multinational enterprises (MNEs) in manufacturing exports and its...

Conventional economic thinking says corruption and income inequality are positively related. In contrast, this study finds that lower corruption is associated with higher income inequality. The finding of a trade-off is not unexpected in the context of Latin America, for two reasons. First,...

This paper presents new evidence on income inequality in Latin America over the period 1981-2000. Using a panel data methodology, we find that a reduction in corruption is associated with a rise in inequality. This counterintuitive result can be explained by privatisation. Privatisation removes...