This research provides an explanation for high literacy, economic growth and societal developments in the Netherlands in the period before the Dutch Republic. We establish a link between the Brethren of the Common Life (BCL), a religious community founded by Geert Groote in the city of Deventer...

The approval for a large dam project proposal these days predominantly involves satisfying broadly the criteria of economic development, social equity, and environmental sustainability. It is justified that the criterion of economic development seeks full project cost recovery as well as...

It is argued that the explosive growth experienced in much of the World since the middle of the 19th Century is due to the exploitation and use of fossil fuels which, in turn, was made possible by capital good innovations that enabled this source of energy to be used effectively. Economic growth...

This study investigated the impact of software piracy on research and development intensity at the country level. While the software piracy problem is harmful to innovation in developed countries, it could benefit innovation in emerging economies because the chance to gain access to a wide array...

Climate change is the most complex challenge that humankind has had to face in recent times. With each successive generation, redressing the imbalance will be more difficult. Diverse and complex requirements of maintaining life on Earth, collectively called the environment, can be caused both by...

The financial crisis that engulfed Asian countries in 1997-98 allowed the United States and the International Monetary Fund to attack the East Asian model of development. In return for needed aid, the IMF required the affected Asian countries to implement deregulatory, free-market "reforms"...

A review of the literature on historical comparisons of levels of development suggests that disparities between now and advanced and lagging countries around 1760 were most likely quite small and, if extreme observations at both ends are excluded, probably nonexistent. When purchasing power...

Progressive income taxation may result in a more equitable income distribution, higher revenues, less financial and economic volatility, and faster growth. The evidence shows a link with higher revenues and a more equitable income distribution but also with larger deficits. There is no link to...

We revisit the relationship between informal institutions and income levels. The empirical literature on institutions finds that indices of "informal institutions" such as trust, respect, respect, self-determination, and obedience are more important than "formal institutions" such as...