In this paper we study the link between television and divorce in Brazil. We exploit variation in the timing of availability of the signal of Rede Globo-the network that had a virtual monopoly on telenovelas in the country-across municipal areas. Using three rounds of census data (1970, 1980,...

To what extent do imposed institutions shape preferences? We consider this issue by comparing the market-versus-state attitudes of respondents from a capitalist country, Finland, and an ex-communist group of Baltic countries, and arguing that the period under the communist rule can be viewed as...

Development Connections takes stock of recent advances in what is broadly known as Information and Communication Technologies (ICTs). The authors seek to discover how information and telecommunication technologies affect both the public and private sectors in Latin America and how they can...

Privatization is under attack. Beginning in the 1980s, thousands of failing state-owned enterprises worldwide have been turned over to the private sector. But public opinion has turned against privatization. A large political backlash has been brewing for some time, infused by accusations of...

This paper analyzes the behavior of current account deficits in Africa and estimates whether the deficits are excessive with respect to fundamentals. The findings are the deficits are (i) not very persistent; (ii) positively linked with domestic growth; (iii) strongly linked with public (and...