This paper develops a framework for evaluating the social returns to infrastructure investments that intensify product market competition. We use a circular model with asymmetric production costs both for incumbent firms and potential entrants, where unit transport cost measures the intensity of...

The paper analyses the pressures on the pace of reform that can arise through fiscal constraints. A simple analytical framework is used to illustrate the relation between the budget deficit and the pace of restructuring, unemployment, and the relative dynamics of state and private firms. It is...

This paper develops a model of the process of reallocation of resources from a declining state sector to an expanding private sector. The transition is shown to be costly in that it entails unemployment and a deterioration of the fiscal balance. The interaction of fiscal constraints with the...

Banks play a central role in financing and monitoring firms in transition economies. This study examines how bank competition affects the efficiency of credit allocation; monitoring of firms; and the firms' restructuring effort. In our model, banks compete to finance an investment project with...

We investigate how bank competition affects the efficiency of credit allocation, using a model of spatial competition. Our analysis shows that bad loans are more likely the larger the number of banks competing for customers. We study further how many banks will be active if market entry is not...

This paper discusses the potential role of a Euro-Mediterranean Agreement (EMA) in helping Middle East and North African governments implement structural economic reforms. The arguments for and against preferential liberalization are summarized, identifying a number of necessary conditions for...

This paper empirically tests the link between trade openness and enterprise restructuring in Bulgaria. It belongs to a recent line of work in the empirical trade literature that investigates the effects of trade policy on firm behaviour. The trade liberalization following the 1991 economic...