The reform of the European Structural Funds requires a classification of rural areas according to their level of economic development. Artificial neural networks (ANNs) are a tool that potentially offers advantages compared to classical classification methods. This paper analyses the strengths...

This paper provides an analysis of the role of criticism in economics, exemplified with journal articles on modern growth theory, published between 1939 and 1986 in 47 economic journals. Critical (-) articles according to our definition either are critical keynotes to articles, or point out the...

This paper focuses on the theoretical differences of four index methods to predict price fluctuations in the picture market: (a) the relation of the arithmetic mean of picture prices of two periods; (b) the relation of the geometric means of picture prices of two periods; (c) the arithmetic mean...

A large part of official economic data sets is produced with the help of assumed functional relations between variables. Constructing economic models on the basis of such model-generated data results in a 'modeling on the basis of the results of modeling.' This common procedure can lead to...

The explanation of different levels of innovation and their spatial distribution represents the central focus of the analysis. The empirical literature documents the incidence of spatial autocorrelation in patenting activities and interprets them as evidence for knowledge spillovers....