This paper analyses the spatial patterns of regional economic growth in Europe over the 1995 to 2010 period. It finds that regions, which contain large urban agglomerations, have been growing significantly faster than those that do not. Furthermore, proximity to large urban agglomerations has...

This paper provides an overview of country specific approaches to metropolitan area governance. It provides brief descriptions of the typical structures of metropolitan governance, with a particular focus on the involved organisations. It points out metropolitan areas that have unusual...

This paper presents a new set of estimates of exposure to air pollution (fine particulate matter - PM2.5) at the city, regional and national levels for the 34 OECD countries, and at the regional and national levels for Brazil, China, India, Russia and South Africa. The estimates are developed by...

Can inertia in terminating unsuccessful loans (creditor passivity) be due to the multiplicity of lenders in loan arrangements? Can a lender reschedule, betting against his odds? Private information in the form of bad but coarse news, that would prompt foreclosure on its own, will instead lead to...

We analyze empirically the impact of urban agglomeration on Italian wages. Using microdata from the Bank of Italy\'s Survey of Household Income and Wealth for the years 1995, 1998, 2000 and 2002 on more than 22,000 employees distributed in 242 randomly drawn local labor markets, we test whether...

Increasingly, a small number of lowwage countries such as China, India and Mexico are involved in incremental innovation. That is, they are responsible for resolving productionline bugs and suggesting product improvements. We provide evidence of this new phenomenon and develop a model in which...

This study explores the dynamics of poverty in Kenya. The study specifically examines how initial conditions, household decisions, and other factors that may change over time affect poverty. Dynamic relationships are identified between behavioral variables, exogenous shocks at one point in time,...

This report discusses the potential for procurement of food aid in local/regional markets to improve the effectiveness of response to food emergency victims. The paper examines the relevance of local/regional procurement (LRP) to donors and the rationale for using it, reviews LRP’s efficiency...

When an emergency occurs, agencies must make quick decisions on how to help people facing severe food insecurity. This paper addresses the challenges of designing appropriate responses that are linked to identified needs of affected households and individuals. The primary goal of any response is...