Can a growing welfare state induce a regime switch in the growth rate of an econ-omy? This paper constructs a dynamic political economy model of economic growth and the welfare state in which both variables are non-linearly related and jointly en-dogenous. Using a Markov switching framework over...

This paper discusses trade developments in EU8 economies: the Czech Republic, Estonia, Hungary, Latvia, Lithuania, Poland, Slovakia and Slovenia. The objective of the study, based on a panel model estimated with modern techniques of pooled mean group estimation with common correlated effects...