The authors explore the links between the investment climate and firm-level productivity and attempt to identify which dimensions of the investment climate matter most for productivity. Their analysis is based on data collected in a recent investment climate survey of garment and food processing...

This paper explores how asymmetric information about borrower quality among syndicated lenders alters the incentive to refinance illiquid borrowers. The authors use a model in which lenders enter the market sequentially in two rounds of lending. Between the two rounds, a shock separates...

When innovation is followed by imitator entry, the degree to which the innovator can appropriate the rents induced by its innovations, influences the rate of innovative activity. The author's interest focuses upon the interaction between the rate of innovative activity and the length l of the...

The main objective of this paper is to provide estimates of the cost of moving out of subsistence for Madagascar's farmers. The analysis is based on a simple asset-return model of occupational choice. Estimates suggest that the entry (sunk) cost associated with moving out of subsistence can be...

The debate on whether natural disasters cause significant macroeconomic impacts and indeed hinder development is ongoing. Most analyses along these lines have focused on impacts on gross domestic product. This paper looks beyond this standard national accounting aggregate, and examines whether...

East Asia has experienced a dramatic decrease in output growth volatility over the past 20 years. This is good news, as output growth volatility affects poor households because of coping strategies that have long-term, harmful consequences, and the overall economy through its negative impact on...

This paper analyzes the drivers and consequences of sudden stops of capital flows. It focuses on the impact of external vulnerability on the depth and length of sudden stop crises. The authors analyze 43 developing and developed countries between 1993 and 2006. They find evidence that external...