This paper addresses the mechanisms by which trade openness affects growth volatility. Using a diverse set of export concentration measures, we present strong evidence pointing to an important role for export diversification in conditioning the effect of trade openness on growth volatility....

The global economy of the past century was dominated by the United States and Western Europe. When they sneezed, the old joke goes, the rest of the world caught a cold. But that dominance is now being challenged by the rise of rapidly growing emerging market economies. And the shift is changing...

Within a Monetary Union, we assume that the policy of a hard-nosed central bank results in a real appreciation of the Union currency, which is in contradiction with the growth targets of several countries. These countries may join together to question the policy of the bank. As a consequence,...

We estimate the effect of imports and exports of intermediates on economic growth in a panel of more than 100 among developed and developing economies. We find that both capital and intermediate imports positively affect growth. The overall effect is driven by the effect of imports in developing...

Despite significant economic reforms in many Southern Mediterranean EU neighbour countries, their growth performance has on average been subdued. This study analyses the differences in growth performance and macroeconomic stability across Mediterranean countries, to draw lessons for the future....

Most projections envision continued rapid growth in ASEAN, the PRC and India over the next two decades. By 2030, they could quadruple their output, virtually eliminate extreme poverty, and dramatically transform the lives of their more than 3 billion citizens. The impact will be felt across the...

This paper assesses how regional trade agreements (RTAs) impact growth volatility on a worldwide sample of 170 countries with data spanning the period 1978-2012.Notwithstanding concerns that trade openness through RTAs can heighten exposure to shocks, in particular when it leads to increased...

The sizable hoarding of international reserves by several East Asian countries has been frequently attributed to a modern version of monetary mercantilism - hoarding international reserves in order to improve competitiveness. From a long-run perspective, manufacturing exporters in East Asia...

This paper evaluates optimal public investment and fiscal policy for countries characterized by limited tax and debt capacities. We study a non stochastic CRS endogenous growth model where public expenditure is an input in the production process, in countries where distortions and limited...

One of the most striking features of the world economy is that wealthy countries are clustered together. This paper theoretically and empirically explains a mechanism for this clustering by extending the Acemoglu and Ventura model so that it takes real geography into account. Countries close to...