We consider extortion gangs that are mafia-like in their protection of targets, but that are unlike the Mafia in their competition over targets. Does this type of organized crime pay? How are the returns to extortion affected by the number of competing extortionists and the violence they apply?...

How much does economic growth contribute to poverty reduction? I discuss analytical and empirical approches to assess the poverty elasticity of growth, and emphasize that the relationship between growth and poverty change is non-constant. For a given poverty measure, it depends on initial...

The pervasiveness of the illegal copying of software is a worldwide phenomenon. Software piracy implies a huge loss of potential customers of original software buyers, which directly translates into revenue losses for the software industry. Given this, conventional wisdom would suggest the need...

Small states have always been more vulnerable in the global economy. This is so because trade comprises a larger proportion of their economic activity, and because they lack the power to set the terms or make any of the rules that govern globalization. Studies of small states tend to focus on...

This discussion paper presents a methodology to visualize the effects of various influences on the income distribution. The methodology, although not new, has become very popular in the past few years. It is the method of counterfactual simulations. In other words, it is the use of "what if...

The Travel Cost Method (TCM) estimates recreational use values through the analysis of travel expenditures incurred by consumers to enjoy recreational activities. The multiple destination or multipurpose problems arise when tourists either visit other attractions or have any other purpose in the...

his thesis consists of three independent chapters. Each chapter analyzes the equilibrium outcomes of the labor and housing market by describing the behavior of the participants in the markets by the perturbed utility model. This class of models allows for a more general substitution patterns as...

With a large representative survey (N = 1, 128), we document that consumers are very uncertain about the emissions associated with various actions, which may affect their willingness to reduce their carbon footprint. We experimentally test two channels for the behavioural impact of such...

This paper compares the distributional effects of price cap and lump sum transfer policies to aid the affordability of subsistence electricity consumption. A lump sum transfer is more progressive than a comparable price cap on all units of electricity. We identify conditions under which these...