This paper presents theory and evidence on the relationship between inequality and institutional quality. We exhibit a model in which the two may dynamically reinforce each other and set to test this relationship with a broad array of institutional measures. The double causality between...

(Disponible en idioma inglés únicamente) En este trabajo se presentan la teoría y elementos de juicio sobre la relación que hay entre la desigualdad y la calidad de las instituciones. Proponemos un modelo en el que cada una de ellas refuerza dinámicamente a la otra y ponemos a prueba esta...

A growing body of recent macroeconomic evidence suggests that volatility is detrimental to economic growth. The channels through which volatility affects growth, however, are less clear; substantive evidence based on disaggregate data is almost non-existent. This paper offers a framework in...

This research revisits the effects of a country's institutional framework on individual firms' behavior, focusing, in particular, on firms' propensity to comply with legal rules. We purport to explain the variation in compliance with legal rules by employing a rich data set on thousands of firms...

This paper uses a large cross-country survey of business firms to assess their influence on government policies. When controlling for endogeneity, we find that such an influence is associated with larger firms and to a lesser extent with government ownership, but not with the degree of...

This paper provides instrumental variable estimates of the permanent income elasticity of government expenditures. It uses annual variation in the international oil price weighted with countries' average oil net-export GDP shares as a plausibly exogenous source of within-country variation in...