We examine the effects of aid on growth-- in cross-sectional and panel data--after correcting for the bias that aid typically goes to poorer countries, or to countries after poor performance. Even after this correction, we find little robust evidence of a positive (or negative) relationship...

This paper develops a small open economy model where entrepreneurs partially finance investment using foreign currency denominated debt subject to a risk premium above and beyond international interest rates. We use Bayesian estimation techniques to evaluate the importance of balance sheet...

Estimation of the ratio of probability densities has attracted a great deal of attention since it can be used for addressing various statistical paradigms. A naive approach to density-ratio approximation is to first estimate numerator and denominator densities separately and then take their...

This paper examines the impact of European Economic and Monetary Union (EMU) on trade within the euro area. Using panel data for 22 industrial countries, the analysis estimates the effect of the euro's arrival on area-wide trade compared to bilateral trade flows between other industrial...

The output gap-which measures the deviation of actual output from its potential-is frequently used as an indicator of slack in an economy. This paper estimates the Finnish output gap using various empirical methods. It evaluates these methods against economic history and each other by a...

This paper provides a model on how altruism, "attachment" to the home country, and portfolio diversification may act as potential motives behind workers' remittances. It shows that the level of workers' remittances depends on how great are their degrees of altruism and "attachment" to their home...

This paper investigates the political and economic determinants of successful fiscal adjustment in 25 emerging market economies from 1980 to 2001. The results show that large and back-loaded fiscal adjustments have the highest likelihood of success. Fiscal consolidations based on expenditure...

This study provides a unique view of the demand for carbohydrate sources in Russia at the household level. The data used in this analysis were obtained from a 1996 survey in eight Russian metropolitan areas. An almost ideal demand system (AIDS) model is used to examine the expenditures for...

This paper examines the relationship between adherence to international standards of good practice in policy-making and two key indicators of access to capital markets and the cost of this access: spreads and sovereign ratings. In contrast to other work, this study reviews a broad set of...