Department: Economics.

Labor productivity levels in Bulgaria lag well behind that in the EU, weighing on the convergence process. Stronger productivity growth would allow Bulgaria to close the income gap with the EU average more quickly and to alleviate the structural problems in its labor market, reflected in its...

The Middle East and Central Asia’s economic growth potential is slowing faster than in other emerging and developing regions, dampening hopes for reducing persistent unemployment and improving the region’s generally low living standards. Why? And is it possible to alter this...

Amid renewed crisis, falling tax revenues, and rising debt, Ukraine faces serious fiscal consolidation needs. Durable fiscal adjustment can support economic confidence and rebuild buffers but what is its overall impact on growth? How effective are revenue versus spending instruments? Does...

Ukraine’s gas pricing policy subsidizes gas and heating for all households. As the cost of imported gas rises, this policy increasingly weighs on government finances, sustains energy over-consumption, dampens investment in delivery systems, and undermines incentives for domestic...

This paper studies the factors behind pro-cyclical but widely varying construction shares (as a percent of GDP) across countries, with a strong focus on European countries. Using a dataset covering 48 countries (including advanced and emerging economies within and outside Europe) for 1990-2011,...

Since the late 1980s, Vietnam, Cambodia, PDR Lao, and Myanmar have been opening their economies to international trade and investment. With the exception of Myanmar, the reforms have yielded impressive results, but the process is far from complete. In this enlightening book, a group of leading...

Bayesian estimation is employed to investigate whether deep as opposed to superficial habit improves the fit of a dynamic stochastic general equilibrium model. If the stock of superficial habit features the additional persistence typical of deep habit, the two specifications are virtually as...