This paper analyzes markets in which consumers do not directly observe the quality of the products but form their expectations about the quality based on the outcome of voluntary imperfect certification. I analyze how the certification fee impacts the decisions of the producers to apply for a...

I compare certification and self-regulation, two widely used quality assurance mechanisms in markets where consumers do not observe the quality of goods. Certification is a mechanism in which an external firm offers a certificate to producers who undergo a testing procedure, issues the...

Various approaches have been employed to explore the possibility of non-linear feedback between the real and financial sector. The present study focuses on the impact of real shocks on selected financial sector indicators, and the responses of the real economy to impulses emanating from the...

I derive a simple gravity model with matching and use data on foreign-born population located in 19 OECD-member countries to estimate the impact of immigrant links on trade. The relative impact on trade of immigrant networks declines with the GDP of source country and is generally smaller than...

I employ the threshold Bayesian VAR with block restrictions to evaluate the nonlinear dynamics across different interest rate regimes using the example of the Czech Republic. The study compounds the information on aggregate credit and non-performing loans (NPL) to find that the procyclicality of...

One of the arguments against the Fair Trade scheme is that the guaranteed minimum price tends to depress world prices and thus the incomes of non-participating farmers (e.g. The Economist, 2006). We develop a model that distinguishes between the impact of the introduction of a Fair Trade market...