A variety of methods - including vector autoregression (Bayesian and nonBayesian) and neural networks - are used to construct models of the UK economy, and their forecasting performance is compared.

Recent tests of the Convergence Hypothesis, or the tendency for per capita income levels to narrow over time, have included a time-series testing approach (see Bernard & Durlauf, 1995, 1996; Oxley & Greasley, 1995, Greasley & Oxley, 1997, 1998a). Results have been mixed, with Bernard & Durlauf...

The size of government consumption relative to national output is examined to see if it is optimal in five Gulf countries of the Middle East. We follow the methodology suggested in Barro (1990) and Karras (1996, 1997). The 'Barro rule' is examined using regression tests for each country and in...

The aim of this paper is to test for the presence of dynamic increasing returns to scale in the Spanish regions between 1962 and 1991.The framework in which this paper is based is the so-called Verdoorn's Law. Tests are carried out for the manufacturing sector, agriculture, construction,...

Part of the Polish transformation process has been an opening of the domestic financial market to foreign entrants. While the number of multinational banks (MNBs) has risen from zero to 15 within six years, the ratio of bank credit to private and public enterprises relative to GDP decreased...

The paper starts with a summary of the way the new theories of international trade have incorporated the role of multinational companies (MNCs) in the location of production. The main, specific assumptions used to incorporate MNCs' activities relate to joint inputs at the company's level...

This paper uses the stochastic production frontier approach to investigate the relationship between size and technical efficiency in the Philippines textile industry. Results show that technical efficiency increases with size, thus weakening the case for SME targeted policies. Moreover, both...