We study the effects of the 2008–2009 global economic crisis on the household experience of bribing public officials. The data come from the Life in Transition-2 survey, conducted in 2010 in 30 post-socialist economies of Central and Eastern Europe and Central Asia. We find that households hit...

This 2013 Article IV Consultation highlights Italy’s assesses measures undertaken to revive economic growth. Italy is vulnerable to a renewal of euro area tension and risks from domestic policy slippages, stalling of structural reforms, and banking distress that could undermine...

This paper discusses the Poverty Reduction Strategy Paper and National Development Strategy (NDS) for the Republic of Moldova. The NDS “Moldova 2020†presents a vision of cohesive long-term sustainable economic development based on a diagnostic study of constraints to economic...

KEY ISSUES Context. Over the past decade, Afghanistan has made enormous progress in reconstruction, development and lifting per capita income. Security and political uncertainties, and weak institutions have constrained growth and weighed on social outcomes. With significant reform efforts and...

This paper develops a game-theoretic model for assessing the relationship between ideological divisions in a society and prospects for good governance. Synthesizing the insights of the literature on political career concerns with those from the literature on issue framing, the model emphasizes...

Ten years into the war on terror, the Karzai government and its international backers, namely the United States and the North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO), continue to face bleak prospects in Afghanistan. The country suffers from political uncertainty and instability, with a resurgent...