The year 2000 was exceptionally good for the transition countries. The region as a whole expanded faster than the world economy average. However, the favourable external climate has started to deteriorate rapidly and especially the current pronounced weakening of the EU economy is worrying. The...

The objective of the paper is to contribute to an explanation of Russia's economic decline during its transition to capitalism. The authors argue that, to an important degree, the dismal performance of the Russian economy stems from the overall vision underpinning the transition to capitalism,...

The fraction of R&D active firms decreased in Switzerland but increased in the Netherlands from 2000-2016. This paper examines reasons for this divergence and its impact on productivity growth. Our micro-data reveal R&D concentration among high-productivity firms in Switzerland. Innovation...

Advances in technology have altered the manner in which business is conducted. This new age business may place pressure on the traditional principles that govern the taxation of transnational transactions. This paper examines the policy directives enacted by most countries and considers whether...

The international economic crisis hit Ireland hard from 2007 on. Ireland’s membership of the Euro had a significant effect on the policy configuration in the run-up to the crisis, as this had shaped credit availability, bank incentives, fiscal priorities, and wage bargaining practices in a...

The financial turmoil that hit Russia in August 1998 was extremely confusing to many foreign observers working in Russia. It was astonishing to see a country that seemed on its way to prosperity suddenly experiencing an economic meltdown. As part of my work, I was often asked to provide...

This paper examines current macroeconomic evidence on the characteristics and magnitude of structural change in Poland during the reform era. The analysis is based on a comparison of two social accounting matrices (SAMs) compiled for 1987 and 1993, three years either side of the introduction of...

This paper introduces a sectoral model for the Spanish economy that allows a better understanding of the propagation of sector-specific shocks taking into account different network interdependencies. In particular, the model features sector interactions along several dimensions in an open...

This paper attempts to measure the direct effects of the Maastricht criteria and the Stability Pact on growth and unemployment in the EU countries, and covers the period 1980-2001. The evidence from a panel empirical analysis suggests that growth was negatively influenced by the imposition of...

We use a decomposition methodology to analyze the factors underlying the differentiated output losses of European countries in 2020. Our findings are fourfold: First, 2020 growth outcomes can be explained by differences in mobility, underlying growth trends, and pre-pandemic country...