For G-7 countries over the period 1961-1990, there appears to be a strong and stable negative correlation between annual changes in the current account and investment. Here we explore this correlation using a highly tractable empirical model that distinguishes between global and country-specific...

This paper uses survey data on 465 Indonesian manufacturing firms to test among three explanations for the payment of premium wages by large, foreign-owned, or modern firms: 1) Premia are market-clearing payments for higher-quality workers; 2) Premia are politically imposed on visible firms; 3)...

This paper analyzes the economic role and performance of a type of financial insti- tution which is observed world-wide - rotating savings and credit associations (Roscas). Using a model in which individuals save for an indivisible durable consumption good, we study Roscas which distribute funds...

We examine productivity growth since World War II in the five leading research economies: West Germany, France, the United Kingdom, Japan, and the United States. Available data on the capital-output ratio suggests that these countries grew as they did because of their ability to adopt more...