We propose a general theory that explains the extent of the state and accounts for related institutions as byproducts of the state's extractive technology. We posit further that this extractive technology is determined by the transparency of the production technology. This theory is applied to...

Using a new data source, the Georgia on the Move Survey, we examine migrantlevel, household-level, and contextual variables associated with the probability that a Georgian household receives remittances. We use propensity score matching to estimate how remittances affect particular types of...

In matching markets the number of blocking pairs is often used as a criterion to compare matchings. We argue that this criterion is lacking an economic interpretation: In many circumstances it will neither reflect the expected extent of partner changes, nor will it capture the satisfaction of...

This paper addresses the fundamental question of whether, in a comparative-advantage context, the gains from trade will be greater when the differences between trading countries are greater. Such a presumption is established. The paper then discusses circumstances that could cause the...

We argue that inter-country comparisons of income poverty based on poverty lines uniformly reflecting the costs of the basic requirements of human beings are superior to the existing money-metric approaches. In this exercise, we implement a uniform approach to income poverty assessment based on...

This paper draws attention to inconsistencies in estimating simple monetary policy rules and their implications for policy advice. We simulate a macroeconomic model with a backward reaction function similar to Taylor (1993). We estimate different versions of a policy rule, using these simulated...

This paper attempts to provide a context for the discussion of possible trade and investment cooperation is East Asia. First I describe the present role in the world economy of regional cooperative arrangements. These seem to be concerned primarily with foreign investment, secondarily with...

This paper proposes a 2-country 3-region economic geography model that can account for the most salient stylized facts experienced by Eastern European transition economies during the 1990s. In contrast to the existing literature, which has favored technological explanations, trade liberalization...

In this paper we propose a two-good model of price competition in an oligopoly where the two goods can be complements or substitutes and each retailer has a captive consumer base `a la Burdett and Judd (1983). We find that the symmetric Nash Equilibrium of this model features atomless pricing...

This study exploits the natural experiment, provided by the start of the second intifada, to measure the effect of immigration on labor market outcomes of Israeli-Arabs and Jews. It finds that Immigrants of different origins, Palestinians versus Foreigners, have different effects on the labor...