The diffusion of knowledge in the world generates positive externalities if knowledge flows increase the productivity of R&D. Our work analyzes knowledge diffusion and knowledge externalities in generating innovation and in determining productivity. We first estimate the determinants of...

This paper addresses a key but neglected task in the theory of international taxation, lent increased urgency by growing awareness of the potential gains from tax coordination: the characterization of Pareto-efficient international tax regimes. It shows that the Diamond-Mirrlees theorem on the...

Canada spends more than Italy on health per capita and as a share of GDP and has a higher per capita GDP. Yet, life expectancy and infant mortality in Italy are better and have improved more over time. The implication is that the Italian health care system provides better value for money. We...

The global economy is passing through a period of profound change. The immediate concern is with the financial crisis, originating in the North. The South is affected via reduced demand and lower prices for their exports, reduced private financial flows, and falling remittances. This is the...

This paper shows that currency momentum, which cannot be explained by carry and dollar factors, summarizes the autocorrelation of these factors. Carry and dollar factors are strongly autocorrelated and only earn significantly positive excess returns following positive factor returns. Currency...

We introduce a new word pattern-based method to automatically classify firms' primary concerns related to the spread of epidemic diseases raised in their quarterly earnings conference calls. We construct text-based measures of the costs, benefits, and risks listed firms in the US and over 80...

This paper investigates the impact of capital flows on bank risk-taking behavior. It undertakes two levels of empirical estimations, namely (i) single-country industry-level; and (ii) multi-country industry-level estimations, covering emerging market economies. The results suggest that capital...

This paper analyses the contribution of capital income to income inequality in a cross-national comparison. Using micro-data from the Cross-National Equivalent File (CNEF) for three prominent panel studies, namely the BHPS for Great Britain, the SOEP for West Germany, and the PSID for the USA, a...

Poverty is a reality that is present to a greater or lesser extent in all regions of the world. Disability, like poverty, is also a reality in the society in which we live. Disability is not only a reality, but an inescapable truth, as at some point in life all people will be vulnerable and will...

Between 2006 and 2014, Bolivia experimented an economic boom period driven mainly by high international prices of commodities. Paradoxically, in the same period, social demands increased and concerns related to the high levels of corruption in public administration did not ease, thus suggesting...