We interpret the emergence of Jihadist terrorism in the light of contest theory. Al Qaeda may be portrayed as a contest organizer, providing a ‘prize’ to the best terrorist group. Each group maximizes its probability of winning by launching attacks more destructive than previous ones...

In this research, a regional intertemporal general equilibrium model is constructed to study the nature of the adjustment path to preferential trade liberalization between Egypt and the European Union. Aside from the dynamic gains from trade – higher growth and welfare – the Egyptian economy...

This study examines episodes of financial stress and develops a financial stress index for the Turkish economy for the 1997–2010 period. We consider various variables that summarize different aspects of financial conditions in the economy to gauge financial stress. We construct the index and...

This paper aims to examine the impacts of sectoral price control policies on oil price pass-through into China's aggregate price level. To that end, we develop a partial transmission input–output model that captures the uniqueness of the Chinese market. We hypothesize and simulate price...

The Milk Income Loss Contract (MILC) program, a counter-cyclical income support program, was designed to provide price support to dairy farmers. Since the inception of the MILC program, large dairy producers have expressed concerns that the MILC payments have negatively affected their farming...

We analyse the take-up by firms of internationally recognized standards such as ISO 9000 and ISO 14000. Based on an analysis of 11,668 firms in countries in Asia and Eastern Europe, we conclude that the probability of standard certification increases with firm size, is greatest in large cities...

Farm direct payments (DPs) have been the main instrument of the Common Agricultural Policy (CAP) to support farm income in the EU. This paper addresses the role of direct payments granted in the context of the market and income support policies and of rural development policies in the...

In this paper we first develop an axiomatic measure of financial inclusion. This measure is readily implementable and useful to determine policy priorities to promote financial inclusion. Next, we demonstrate that supply side data on banking services can be usefully employed to measure financial...

In this paper, we analyze the role played by capital goods imports in the long-run growth of developing countries. We focus in the case of the Chinese economy in the last few decades. We find evidence that the ratio of imported to domestic capital goods, that is, the composition of investment,...

Using fixed calorie norms to measure undernutrition is suspect due to familiar reasons. Recent studies have proposed an approach that relies on a calorie share of staples threshold. Our analysis with Indian household data shows that such a measure is of limited interest and potentially...