This paper analyzes the effects of enlargement on European Union (EU) legislative output. Building on veto player theory we use computer simulations to derive hypotheses about group size, heterogeneity and law production. We test this theory by estimating negative binomial regression models on a...

Through the principle of country ownership including broad-based participation, Poverty Reduction Strategies (PRS) introduced by the World Bank and the IMF as a new condition for aid at the turn of the century have a non-negligible potential to promote democratization in developing countries. In...

In this paper we investigate how country shareholding arrangements affect the lending of multilateral development banks (MDBs) under different economic conditions and over time. To do so, we consider three different “types” of MDBs - one dominated by non-borrowers (the World Bank), another...

This paper proposes a theory on the interference of World Bank and IMF programs with domestic politics by changing the prevailing power balance between pro-democratic and anti-democratic forces. However, World Bank and IMF programs differ in design and impact. Thus, the question arises whether...

In Malawi, informal off-farm labour (ganyu) has often been described as a survival strategy which eventually drives poor rural households into even further destitution. Based on data from the Second Integrated Household Survey for 2004, we estimate the determinants of the decision to supply...

During the last few decades, general awareness has increased that along with problems of international development, environmental problems, notably with respect to climate change, represent yet another global challenge. In an attempt to win further public support for aid expenditures, aid...

Paper prepared for the workshop on the analysis of political cleavages and party competition, Duke University, Dept. of Political Science, April 2/3 2004. Paper presents first results from a research project conducted jointly by a team at the University of Zurich (Prof. Hanspeter Kriesi, Simon...

This paper investigates how electoral timing influences policymakers' responses to currency crises. Previous empirical research has shown that elections significantly influence both the probability that a currency crisis emerges and the government's policy responses to such crises. This paper...

All humor is to some extent cultural and, perhaps to that same extent, humor serves to define, explain and enhance our understanding of a particular culture. The computer industry, now over 50 years old, is a mature culture characterized by industriousness, creativity, energy, bureaucracy and...