It has been argued that economies with more independent central banks experience lower inflation over time. In this paper we show that this relationship is sensitive to the methodology through which central bank independence indices are constructed. We stress the importance of employing dynamic...

In this paper we broaden the standard debt sustainability framework used in the IMF-WB Heavily Indebted Poor Countries (HIPC) Initiative to include the analysis of domestic public debt and other feedback effects into the usual debt sustainability analysis (DSA). The latter does not take into...

In the transfer problem debate with Keynes, Ohlin suggests that income eects should lessen relative price variations necessary to pro- duce trade surpluses, and that that impact is related to the degree of openness of the economy. We illustrate this mechanism in a sim- ple model, and take it to...

Vengono presentati I principali meccanismi di incentivazione in Italia ed in alcuni paesi europei, in termini sia di descrizione delle iniziative che di analisi del loro impatto in termini di investimenti complessivi e di nuova occupazione. Per I singoli strumenti proposti vengono presentati...

Questo lavoro intende affrontare la questione degli assetti istituzionali e delle modalità organizzative dell’intervento dello Stato a favore dello sviluppo territoriale. Il tema è di crescente interesse in considerazione del moltiplicarsi dei livelli di governo (sovranazionale, nazionale,...

This paper presents an empirical analysis of the operational efficiency of microfinance institutions. Using a cross section of 750 microfinance institutions operating in Asia, Latin America and Sub-Saharan Africa, the analysis shows that operating costs and efficiency are negatively related....

This discussion paper critically reviews a new book by Aoki and Yokishawa and presents some of the techniques adopted by the authors as a new approach to the foundations of macroeconomics. The paper discusses some of the main techniques of statistical mechanics relevant in this context, namely...

Corruption presents many legal and regulatory challenges, but these challenges cannot be met by the law in isolation. This book presents economic analysis of crime as an essential tool for shaping an effective legal apparatus. The authors contend that in order to assess whether and how to...

This paper calculates indices of central bank autonomy (CBA) for 163 central banks as of end-2003, and comparable indices for a subgroup of 68 central banks as of the end of the 1980s. The results confirm strong improvements in both economic and political CBA over the past couple of decades,...

This essay presents a survey of the main contribution to the debate on the causes and effects of the underdevelopment of the Italian Mezzogiorno. The essay describes the most recent analysis devoting specific attention to policy proposals. Questo saggio presenta una rassegna dei principali...