This paper examines the development of Russian industry in comparison with that of Ukrainian industry during 1995-2004 in an effort to ascertain to what extent, if any, Russian manufacturing showed signs of succumbing to 'Dutch disease'. Ukraine and Russia began the market transition with...

This article uses extreme-bound-type analysis to revisit the determinants behind widely differing economic growth in Russian regions. Using data of 77 regions for 1993-2004, it separately examines the growth drivers for the phase of economic decline up to 1998, and for the period of strong...

In recent years economists have come to see rich natural resource endowments as a "curse" or "precious bane" that inevitably undermines development and slows economic growth. Resource-based development undeniably involves important risks. Nonetheless, the resource curse - if it exists - is at...

This study approaches the question whether it “pays” to live in big(ger) cities in a three-fold manner: first, it estimates how city size affects worker productivity (agglomeration benefits) in Germany, based on individual-level wage data. Second, it considers whether productivity benefits...

This working paper offers a synthesis of the current knowledge on the determinants ofproductivity. It carefully reviews both “spatial” (e.g. agglomerations, infrastructure,geography) and “aspatial” (e.g. human capital, labour regulations, industry-levelinnovation and dynamism)...

Using bank-level data from 38 countries, this paper examines how a range of stability-oriented regulatory policies for banking are related to competition outcomes. Based on policy indicators constructed at the OECD for eight areas of prudential banking regulation, the results do not support the...

This article uses “extreme-bound”-type analysis to revisit the determinants behind the widely differing economic growth in Russian regions prior to the recent global financial crisis. Using data of regional growth in 1995–2006 for 77 Russian regions, it examines the growth drivers for the...

This paper examines how the the distributive impact of macroeconomic shocks is shaped by selected institutions. It uses a dynamic stochastic general equilibrium (DSGE) framework with heterogeneous agents and an endogenous collateral constraint. The model is based on the “credit view” of...

The global financial crisis of 2007-09 and the ensuing sovereign debt crisis in Europe provide evidence that portfolio rebalancing of financial investors can contribute to spread financial turmoil across countries. Rebalancing of portfolios, in turn, may be driven by the need to meet liquidity...

This paper examines how structural policies can influence a country's risk of suffering financial turmoil. Using a panel of 184 developed and emerging economies from 1970 to 2009, the empirical analysis examines which structural policies can affect financial stability by either shaping the...