The authors use principal component analysis to reassess the link between different attributes of central bank independence and inflation performance. They suggest that coding problems may account for the fact that almost none of the attributes included in the Cukierman index has a systematic,...

In recent years, industrial countries have made increased use of quotas relative to tariffs for import protection. This development has troubled economists, who generally view quotas as more inefficient than tariffs. This paper compares tariffs and quotas used to protect a domestic monopoly in a...