This paper argues that openness to goods trade in combination with an unequal distribution of political power has been a major determinant of the comparatively slow development of resource- or land-abundant regions like South America and the Caribbean in the nineteenth century. We develop a...

This paper proposes and empirically tests a new demand-side explanation for distortions in public spending composition. Voters prefer spending with certain and immediate benefits when they have low trust in electoral promises and high discount rates. The paper incorporates these characteristics...

This paper introduces preliminary evidence from a cross-country database of policy characteristics and potential uses of that database. While most databases have emphasized either the content of policies (e.g., size of government deficits) or countries’ formal institutions (e.g., political...

Deutschland ist seit Mitte der neunziger Jahre langsamer gewachsen als der Durchschnitt der europäischen Länder. Von 1995-2004 nahm das deutsche Sozialprodukt um 13%, das BIP Großbritanniens um 22%, das von Frankreich um 20% und das von Österreich um 22% zu. Helmut Frisch, TU Wien und...

We seek to understand both the incidence and the impact of the African political business cycle in the light of a literature which has argued that, with major extensions of democracy since the 1990s, the cycle has both become more intense and has made African political systems more fragile. With...

There is a worldwide contemporary debate about the role of the hidden economy in achieving the goal of sustained and inclusive economic growth and development, especially in the context of its spillover effects on the formal economy. For this purpose, policy-makers and academicians have made...

La reducción de la pobreza, que afecta a más de un tercio de la población en América Latina y el Caribe, es un objetivo prioritario de las políticas públicas. A partir de un breve diagnóstico de la pobreza, este artículo discute los elementos de una estrategia integral para reducirla,...

Il potenziamento delle infrastrutture strategiche per lo sviluppo del Paese rappresenta un obiettivo prioritario di politica economica per sostenere l'occupazione, innalzare la produttività del sistema produttivo e l'efficienza dei servizi pubblici e privati. Se il rilancio dello sviluppo delle...

The purpose of this study is to determine if electronic government initiatives help to reduce corruption. The statistical analysis uses a modified Klitgaard corruption model, which includes as factors government Web portals in addition to monopoly power, the discretion of officials and the...