We estimate the extent to which idiosyncratic and disaggregate macro shocks (such as regional and industry shocks) are not shared in the economy. Comparing the degree to which idiosyncratic and disaggregate macro shocks are not shared grants a deeper understanding as to why the economy lacks in...

This paper looks at the advantages and disadvantages of mixing banking and commerce, using the "liquidity" approach to financial intermediation. Adding a commercial firm makes it easier for a bank to dispose of assets seized in a loan default. This 'internal market' increases the liquidity of...

Policy-makers have increasingly come to focus on the role of economic factors in fuelling or dampening regional and border conflicts. This issue can be highly relevant in the case of nonrecognized entities where some economic interests may benefit from the resulting distortions while others...

This paper argues that the recent decline in the hegemony of the centre-left in Greece is related to the ideas of modernization that have dominated that tradition over the past few years. The tendency to conceptualize development in terms of a clash between the “new” and the “old”, to...

The objective of this paper is to analyse key aspects of economic policy in EMU taking into account the basic components of the Community framework, namely (i) the internal market, (ii) common fiscal rules and provisions for economic policy co-ordination, and (iii) the single monetary policy....