This paper assesses the effects of applying VAT or a sales tax on (intermediate or final) sales of the financial sector. It uses a CGE Model calibrated for a small open economy. It highlights the differentiated sectoral and redistributional effects of these taxes and shows the importance of the...

As regions around the world are considering increased integration of key energy, transport or other infrastructure networks, issues build in the design of the supranational national regulation needed in that context are increasingly well recognized. Solutions are however slow to emerge. This...

This paper uses a computable general equilibrium (CGE) micro-simulation model to explore the distributional and poverty-related effects of price reform in the electricity sector of Mali, a poor country in West Africa. In the first part of the paper we analyse the distribution of electricity in...

This paper shows how high bargaining power for firms and search costs in the labor market can impede a switch towards new, more competitive economic activities. This is because search costs drive the quality of the horizontal matching between worker types and the old and new sectors of the...

Infrastructure and Poverty in Sub-Saharan Africa analyzes the extent to which, how, and how fast the infrastructure needs of the poor have been met in Sub-Saharan Africa (SSA). Author Antonio Estache: Antonio Estache is Professor of Economics at Université libre de Bruxelles, Belgium, and a...

Multidimensional auctions are a natural, practical solution when governments pursue more than one objective in their public-private-partnership transactions. However, multi-criteria auctions seem difficult to implement and vulnerable to corruption and opportunistic behavior of both parties...

Asymmetric auctions are among the most rapidly growing areas in the auction literature. The potential benefits from intensified auction competition could be enormous in the public procurement context. Entrant bidders are considered a key to enhance competition and break potential collusive...