This paper uses a multivariate generalisation of the Beveridge and Nelson methodology to model trends and cycles of business-sector labour productivity in the major OECD countries. The method implies that the trend is the long-term forecast of productivity, given all available information; the...

This paper examines the empirical basis for the debt-neutrality hypothesis in an international cross-section of eight major OECD countries over the period 1961-85. The analysis uses a dynamic demand system for durable and non-durable goods derived from individual optimizing behaviour. The model...

The paper looks at patterns of regulation in service industries and explores their implications for service performance. Focusing on restrictions to market mechanisms, a map of the state of service regulation in OECD countries is provided, based on data recently collected and summarised by the...

The aim of this paper is to analyse the implications of the European Commission proposal of a mixed energy cum carbon tax to curb CO2 emissions from a global perspective. The paper deals with the effects of this proposal on emissions and welfare in both the EC and the rest of the world by...

The paper uses a data base on regulation, market structure and performance in the air passenger transportation industry, to analyse the links among liberalisation, private ownership, competition, efficiency and airfares at national and route levels. Covering the 1996-97 travel season, 21...

In this paper, we relate the scope and depth of regulatory reforms to growth outcomes in OECD countries. By means of a new set of quantitative indicators of regulation, we show that the cross-country variation of regulatory settings has increased in recent years, despite extensive liberalisation...

Based on 18 country reviews performed over the 2003-2005 period, this paper examines, the cross-country differences in policy approaches to product market competition and their consequences for product market rents. Against this background, the paper summarises OECD recommendations to further...

One commonly held view about the difference between continental European countries and other OECD countries, especially the United States, is that the heavy regulation of Europe reduces its growth. Using newly assembled data on regulation in several sectors of many OECD countries, we provide...

The paper uses an original international database on regulation, market structure and performance in the telecommunications industry to investigate the effects of entry liberalisation and privatisation on productivity, prices and quality of service in long-distance (domestic and international)...

In an empirical investigation, the paper identifies the main political economy drivers of structural policy changes in OECD countries' labour and product markets over the 1985-2003 and 1973-2003 periods respectively. Some of the drivers are beyond the control of governments (i.e., that are...