In this paper I discuss the general statistical relationships between beta- and sigmaconvergence (for a definition see section 2) and the implications of the Solow-Swan and Ramsey-Cass model for an OLS-estimation of beta- and sigma-convergence of the log of per capita GDP over a cross section of...

This paper investigates whether the impacts of trade and foreign direct investment (FDI) on domestic investment depend upon social capability of a country. Applying the instrumental variable threshold regressions approach to cross-sectional data for 85 countries, it finds that social capability...

The institutional reforms towards trade liberalizations in Latin America during the 1980s and the 1990s have introduced a good measure of import competition, but trade policies alone are not sufficient to create a competitive environment in an economy. Most of the region's economies have changed...

The paper explores firstly the impact of technological change on trade growth at the country level, using trade statistics and statistics on patenting activity in the US, across 20 countries for 17 manufacturing sectors. Secondly, using structural decomposition analysis, the paper examine...

This study investigates the main drivers of the differences in the economic fallout in advanced economies during the COVID-19 crisis. In addition to containment measures, the analysis places emphasis on pre-crisis factors that may have bolstered economic resilience during the health crisis and...

In the pre-reforms period the trade policy in Latin America had involved very high levels of protection and government intervention. The recent trade liberalization policies of the Latin American countries have sought to reverse the protectionist policies and open the scope for foreign direct...

The paper investigates empirically the tourism-growth relationship in Greece, over the period 1960-2020. We find that the long-run relationship between tourism and output is positive and is characterized by a substantially faster convergence of output after a negative shock than after a positive...

Cross-country evidence is presented on resource dependence and the link between volatility and growth. First, growth depends negatively on volatility of unanticipated output growth independent of initial income per capita, the average investment share, initial human capital, trade openness, the...

The current research emphasis on institutions as key determinants of economic performance, rather than on resources and resource productivity, has uncovered important questions for further research. For example, if institutions are central to economic performance, then what explains observed...

Institutions either promote or constrain economic performance, but which parts of institutions advance or restrict performance, and why do economies sharing similar institutions sometimes perform differently? This paper is a modest attempt at addressing a small part of these questions. It...