The paper provides three principal results. First, we benchmark South African infrastructure performance in terms of access, pricing, and quality against key comparator groups of countries using the most recent World Bank benchmarking data base (2005). Second, we establish clear empirical links...

This paper proposes a methodology to combine different dimensions of economic governance into a combined index. The quality of economic governance index (QEGI) is estimated as the weighted average of principal components of the standardised economic governance indicators, where weights are...

The ultimatum game experiment has a long history in experimental economics. In-vivo ultimatum like strategic settings often involve uncertain rejection and payoff reversals. This paper presents the results of an ultimatum like experiment extended to reflect characteristics of a shared...

The development of what one might call 'modern' systems of information and communication began with the Gutenberg printing press in the 15th century, and progressed through the prepaid postal system, electric telegraph and telephone in the 19th century, radio and television broadcasting in the...

The windfall acquisition of precious metals from American mines and the military revolution of the Early Modern age allowed the Spanish monarchs to command large amounts of credit andpursue an expansive imperial policy unlike that of any other Early Modern nation; when the costof the Empire...

This paper attempts to propose a methodology to combine different dimensions of governance indicators into a composite index. The governance index is computed as the weighted average of principal components of the standardized governance indicators, where weights are variances of successive...

Passage of the Sherman Act in the United States in 1890 set the stage for a century of jurisprudence regarding monopoly, cartels, and oligopoly. Among American statutes that regulate commerce, the Sherman Act is unequaled in its generality. The Act outlawed "every contract, combination or...

This paper looks at the history of money and its modern form from a scientific and mathematical point of view. The approach here is to emphasize simplicity. A straightforward model and algebraic formula for a large economy analogous to the ideal gas law of thermodynamics is proposed. It may be...

In developing countries, microfinance has been the darling of the development community, and in developed countries, microfinance fits well with Third Ways ideas. What are the challenges and opportunities for the attempt to replicate microfinance in the United States? This paper attempts to...

During the 1990's, Mexico successfully implemented a program of economic reforms and free trade aimed at a complete restructuring of its economy. Surprisingly, the reform process seems to have had little impact on unemployment. An analysis of trends indicates that, even in the worst years of...