We examine theoretically and empirically the relationship between access regulation, financial structure and investment decisions in network industries, analyzing if financial variables can be used as a strategic device to influence the regulator’s price setting decisions. Using a panel of 15...

This paper investigates the effects of signing a trade agreement on the correlations of the business cycle fluctuations of consumption, investment and output between two countries. We construct an international business cycle model with trade costs and we calibrate it to the United States and...

This paper provides a joint analysis of the output and distributional long term effects of various fiscal policies in the UK, using a Vector Autoregression approach. Our findings suggest that the output effects of fiscal policies are consistent with the Keynesian paradigm for both direct and...

This paper considers value-added models of school assessment and their implementation in Poland. Value-added estimates can be very helpful for schools and policy makers who need a reliable way to control teaching effectiveness, or for parents who need information about school quality in their...

The article examines whether and how independent regulatory agencies (IRAs) have altered the strategies, relationships and power of French policy makers in markets and whether they led to convergence with Britain in state-market relations. It relates these questions to broader debates about the...

The financial sector in Burundi has had a very limited effect on the country's development. High political and economic risks have prevented banks from engaging in long-term lending, constraining long-term investment. Moreover, the industrial organisation of the financial sector is not conducive...

This paper analyses the channels through which the economic and financial crisis of 2008-2009 is transmitted to fragile countries in Sub-Saharan Africa. Trade stands out as the main direct channel, even though intra-Africa remittances play a relevant role, given that most migrants in Sub-Saharan...

We appraise the new EU supervisory architecture presented by the Commission in a package of five 'draft legislative acts'. Two would establish a European Systemic Risk Board (ESRB) to undertake macro-prudential issues. Three would establish the system of European Supervisory Authorities (ESAs):...

In the early stage of the 2008-2009 financial crisis, the conventional wisdom was that financial under-development of sub Saharan African economies may have been a bless-ing in disguise because it insulated them from the direct effects of the crisis. This paper argues that this may also make...

We match data on the daily newspaper coverage of a sample of Italian listed companies with Nielsen data on the monthly amount of advertising that a given company has purchased on a given newspaper. Controlling for newspaper and company fixed effects, we show that newspaper coverage of a given...