We quantify the role of the extensive margin in the recent trade dynamics of selected countries that are running large and persistent trade imbalances. We find that the role of the extensive margin is quite substantial, although it varies in significance across the countries in the sample....

This paper is concerned with rules of origin when intermediate goods are differentiated. An analytical model emphasizes trade patterns and the relative importance of trade in intermediates given trade preferences. Econometric evidence based on intra-OECD trade in motor vehicles and motor vehicle...

This book chapter provides for a review of quantity-based and price-based indicators of regional financial integration. These measures should be easy to construct and interpret, based on publicly available data, and available for many countries and regions over time. The chapter discusses the...

Using a daily time series from 1983 to 2005 of currency prices in spot and forward USD/Yen markets and matching equivalent maturity short term US and Japanese interest rates, we investigate the sensitivity over the sample period of the difference between actual prices in forward markets to those...

Our goal in this paper is to investigate the relation between government spending and the long-run behaviour of the Irish real exchange rate. We postulate that an increase in government consumption should be associated with real appreciation, while the impact of government investment is...

In this paper we argue that many scholars using the conceptual framework of social capital have largely ignored or minimised two important elements: closure and emergence. First we chart the rise of social capital (section two), then we outline some of the existing criticisms of social capital...

The rise of immigration into Ireland has been accompanied by a debate on the potential objectives of immigration policy. This paper beings with a survey of international and historical evidence on the economics of immigration policy. To place Irish immigration in the international context, a...

The Chinese government and its companies have dramatically increased their presence in Africa in the last decade. There has been much media interest and commentary on the impacts of China on governance in Africa, as it is often seen to be strengthening authoritarian states such Sudan and...

This paper examines how foreign plants may impact on the averages wages paid by domestic plants within a host economy. The analysis, building on Aitken, Harrison and Lipsey (1996), is based on plant level panel data for the Irish manufacturing industry during the 1990s. We find that respective...