The spatial dispersion of public investment constitutes one of the principal elements and also one of the key issues concerning a country’s strategic regional development. Public investment expenditure represents in part the ‘social wage’ citizens receive, while at the same time it...

Most studies of differentiated integration are confined within the framework of the European Union (EU). The EU-Balkan relationship provides an opportunity to apply differentiated integration to links between the EU and a cluster of external states. Differentiated integration is at play in the...

In most of the European transition economies regional policy is a relatively new phenomenon, given the absence of a coherent framework for such policy during the Communist era. In Southeast Europe in particular, regional policy was slow to develop also in the transition period. This was in many...

Greek exceptionalism is a claim widely made in comparative politics. In this article I argue against the proposition that Greece differs from the EU norm regarding the disbursement of state aids to industry. Using data from the European Commission during the period 1992-2004, I subject the...

As the tenth anniversary of EMU is approaching, a debate is underway as to whether the single currency has promoted or hindered convergence among the countries of the Eurozone. On the one hand, there is wide agreement on the fact that asymmetric shocks have subsided after the creation of the...

The EMU fiscal adjustment paths of the four Southern Europe members (Italy, Spain, Greece, and Portugal – SE-4) vary along two dimensions: a) cross-temporal (pre- and post-EMU accession) and b) cross-country. We account for the cross-temporal variation by distinguishing between the ‘hard’...

We estimate the extent to which idiosyncratic and disaggregate macro shocks (such as regional and industry shocks) are not shared in the economy. Comparing the degree to which idiosyncratic and disaggregate macro shocks are not shared grants a deeper understanding as to why the economy lacks in...

This paper looks at the advantages and disadvantages of mixing banking and commerce, using the "liquidity" approach to financial intermediation. Adding a commercial firm makes it easier for a bank to dispose of assets seized in a loan default. This 'internal market' increases the liquidity of...