In this paper we contribute to the empirical literature on growth in the MENA region by attempting to quantify the impact of the various constraints faced by local businesses highlighted by the World Bank’s Business Enterprise surveys. To the best of our knowledge this dataset has not been...

How do firm-specific actions-in particular, innovation-affect firm productivity? And what is the role of the financial sector in facilitating higher productivity? Using a rich firm-level dataset, we find that innovation is crucial for firm performance as it directly and measurably increases...

The aim of this paper is to analyze the respective impacts of remittances, health aid and public spending on the access to health care services in developing countries. The specific objectives are threefold. Firstly, we quantify the differential impacts of remittances on the access to public and...

This paper examines the link between health indicators, environmental variables and income inequalities. Theoretically, all the mechanisms developed in the literature underline a negative impact of income inequality on health status. However, empirical studies find different results and the...

This paper examines the relationship between migrants remittances and the prevalence of child labor by using a large sample of developing countries. In particular, we investigate whether the inflow of remittances helps to offset the effects of financial constraints and income shocks on the...

The effectiveness of public funds in increasing public employment has long been a question on public and labor economists’ minds. In most federal countries local governments employ large fractions of the working population, meaning that a tool for stimulating local public employment can...