Governments use tax expenditures to boost investment, innovation and employment. However, these schemes are largely opaque, costly and often ineffective in reaching their stated goals. They also frequently trigger unwanted side effects. In order to improve the performance of these tools, the...

Around the world, women face persistent barriers in seeking to enter the labor force, attain leadership positions, and launch businesses. Gender inequality not only prevents women from achieving their full potential and gaining economic independence, but also inhibits the growth of national...

This paper investigates the effects of investment subsidies on the accumulation decisions of a sample of Italian manufacturing firms. We use survey information on the subjective evaluation of the investment activity that the recipient firm would have undertaken, had it not been financed. We find...