This work investigates the roots of economic development. The debate about the predominance of institutions over geography is far from reaching a firm conclusion, and this analysis highlights the main difficulties that should be addressed in order to find out the real determinants of long-run...

Recent years have seen an intense and critical debate about the impact of microcredit on entrepreneurial activities and poor households' welfare. This paper suggests that information asymmetries in the ex post loan arrangement between the microfinance institution and local borrowers could...