In the short run, efficient financial intermediaries with small initial wealth endowments may not have a sufficient stake in the market to persuade the market of their reliability. This paper demonstrates that the most efficient information producer may emerge as a credible intermediary in the...

Using panel data from 39 countries, this paper examines the effects of financial deepening and openness to trade and foreign capital (FDI) on rural-urban inequality in Africa. Four estimations were performed: OLS pooled cross-section, GLS pooled cross-section, fixed effects model and an adjusted...

We present a model of vertical product differentiation and exit where a domestic and a foreign firm face fixed setup costs and quality-dependent costs of production and compete in quality and price in the domestic market. Quality-dependent costs are quadratic in qualities, but independent of the...

In a model of vertical product differentiation, duopolistic firms face quality-dependent costs and compete in quality and price in two segmented markets. Minimum quality standards, set according to the principle of Mutual Recognition, can be used to increase welfare. The results of the one-shot...

This dissertation explores the influences of minimum quality standards and of the threat of entry in a vertical product differentiation model. In the first chapter, I study the influence of minimum quality standards in a partial-equilibrium model of vertical product differentiation and trade in...

We explore the effects of openness to trade on growth and the implications for income convergence in Africa. Fixed-effect estimation results indicate that the evidence on the direct impact of openness to trade on growth is mixed and there is no support for conditional convergence. On the other...

This paper uses the Granger-causality technique to test Friedman 's hypothesis that variability in monetcuy growth causes changes in velocity. Two models are constructed and tested. The first model uses aggregate money without distinction between the anticipated and unanticipated money growth....