Using a unique dataset for 14 transition economies, we propose a new measure for individual evaluations of transitional reforms, which we use to study, for the first time, the evolution of support for economic and political reforms from 1991 to 2004. We show that support for economic changes has...

Aside from employment protection laws, which have been converging, other labor market institutions in new and old EU member states, such as wage bargaining coordination and labor union density, still differ considerably. These labor market institutions also differ among the new EU member states,...

We consider the transitions among intragenerational and alternative intergenerational financing and liquidity risk-sharing mechanisms, in an Overlapping Generations model with endogenous levels of long-lived investments. The existence and characterization of a Self-Sustaining Mechanism, stable...

Are asymmetric shocks to output less important for industries which are more open to trade and more technology-intensive? Our results, obtained from a correlation analysis between growth rates of value added in thirteen manufacturing industries in eleven European countries between 1979 and 1990,...

Bank intermediated short-term capital inflows play a crucial role in the financial structure of many emerging economies. Yet since these funds are subject to the risk of early withdrawal, an excessive reliance on this financing is often associated with a financial or currency crisis. We model a...

In 1991, the rate of inflation in the Czech Republic, Hungary and Poland was between 35% and 70%. At the end of 2001, it is below 8%. We setup a small structural macro model of these economies to explain the process of disinflation. Contrary to a widespread skepticism, which permeated a large...

We study a model where monetary and fiscal policy share the task of stabilizing output and inflation, and the central bank has been assigned a mandate for the latter. The optimal fiscal policy does not imply assigning to the government a (symmetric) mandate to stabilize output. Instead, the...

We examine the relations between monetary and fiscal policies in the process of macroeconomic stabilization.Our model suggests that each policimaker prefers to be the second mover in a "Stakelberg" situation, i.e. where one policy makers precommits its policy choce. At the same time, both...

We conduct a comparative analysis of Labor Market Policies and outcomes for the EU member states, for period 2000-2005. We document the main differences in Labor Market Policies across EU members, including new members states after 2004. We focus on indicators of policy generosity (expenditures...

How did post-communist transformations affect people's perceptions of their economic and political systems? We model a pseudo-panel with 89 country-year clusters, based on 13 countries observed between 1991 and 2004, to identify the macro and institutional drivers of the public opinion. Our main...