The paper analyses the evolution of the trade specialization pattern in the new EU member states. Relying on the empirical approach of the Markov transition matrices it analyses both the changes in the external shape of the distribution of comparative advantages and the intra-distribution...

We experimentally investigate in village India how belief systems that hierarchize social groups affect the groups' responses to economic opportunities. Earlier we found that making caste salient hurt low caste performance both absolutely and relative to the high caste's. To examine the possible...

Return obtained by diversification is based on average quality. Similarly, under asymmetric information, the price at which "an" asset can be sold reflects the average quality of assets. Therefore, 4under some conditions, sale of an asset under asymmetric information is a useful alternative to...

This study examines the ability of the Central and Eastern European countries to attract foreign direct investment during the first decade of transition. After considering a model of profit maximizing firms, we undertake an empirical investigation of the factors that determine multinational...

Utilizing panel data for 14 East European transition economies, we discuss the link between product variety and growth. The empirical work relies upon some direct measures of product variety calculated from 5-digit OECD trade data. On balance, the results suggest that the growth patterns of the...

Transition economies use their child benefit programmes to provide additional economic support for families with children. However, budgetary pressures limit social spending in many countries. Therefore, targeting child benefit programmes to the poorest households may be a sensible solution to...

According to the European Commission (1990), closer integration leads to less frequent asymmetric shocks and to more synchronized business cycles between countries. However, for Krugman (1993) closer integration implies higher specialization and, thus, higher risks of idiosyncratic shocks....

This paper analyses the impact of news, oil prices, and international financial market developments on daily returns on Russian bond and stock markets. First, regarding returns, energy news affects returns, while news from the war in Chechnya is not significant. Market volatility does not appear...

In transition countries, the real impact of banking crises has so far been rather moderate. We study the effect of bank insolvency on corporate incentives in a model where incumbent banks possess an informational advantage. We find that bank insolvency reduces the incentive to restructure for...