It is often claimed that tax and welfare reforms that aim at enhancing efficiency may come at the cost of cyclical stabilisation. Reducing the generosity of welfare systems and lowering taxes may boost efficiency and output, and improve market adjustment to shocks. But, by reducing the size of...

EMU is a completely new policy regime which has significant economic implications and which, it is hoped, will ultimately enhance the role of Europe on the world stage. EMU and Economic Policy in Europe takes stock of the initial experiences of EMU and assesses the challenges which will have to...

The paper investigates the reasons for the established disappointing performance of the Arab education system as compared to the rest of the world. We focus on the role of the quality of informal institutions as measured by the World Value Survey (WVS) and formal institutions as measured by the...

Criticizing the Efficient Market Hypothesis (EMH) on the basis of highly volatile asset prices is conceptually wrong as efficiency is about rationality and information, not about stability. Speculative bubbles are compatible with rational valuation, and hence with market efficiency. As rational...

This paper investigates the Moroccan growth experience since 1960 and compares it with the rest of the Middle East and North Africa (MENA). While Morocco and the MENA have faced a decreasing growth rate over the period, Moroccan growth was higher and much more volatile. The contribution of labor...