The market value of U.S. corporations, relative to the replacement cost of their tangible assets, declined by about 50% in 1973-74, and stagnated at that level for the following decade. This collapse in market valuations exactly coincides with the Oil Crisis of October 1973. Over the 1973-78...

This paper reviews the development experience of the Arab countries since World War II, arguing that the lack of inclusive economic and political institutions is the primary cause for the current state of underdevelopment in the region. While macroeconomic mismanagement and oil abundance are...

The Central Bank of Egypt announced the flotation of the Egyptian Pound in January 2003. Yet, the somewhat stable exchange rate raises questions about its actual role in monetary policy. This paper assesses whether exchange policy significantly changed after the float. It first applies...

The aim of this paper is twofold. The first is to empirically assess whether there has been any significant change in exchange rate determination after the announcement of the float. The second is to provide a de facto classification for Egypt’s exchange rate regime. Both contributions were...

This paper examines whether domestic inflation spikes in Egypt during 2001-2011 were primarily the result of external food price shocks. To estimate the pass-through of international food price inflation to domestic price inflation, two different methodologies are used: a two-step regression...

Fiscal multipliers are important tools for macroeconomic projections and policy design. In many countries, little is known about the size of multipliers, as data availability limits the scope for empirical research. For these countries, we propose a simple method—dubbed the “bucket...

The paper contributes to the discussions on fiscal governance in Europe. It takes stock of recent reforms, identifies areas for further progress, and discusses a menu of policy options for the medium-term. The issues covered include: (i) the growing complexity of the European framework and ways...

This paper reviews capital taxation issues in Italy based on a comprehensive definition encompassing taxes on income, transactions, and ownership. It discusses options to enhance the neutrality of the capital income tax system, followed by a detailed analysis of the property tax, the inheritance...