The derivation of the Balassa-Samuelson effect allows for different empirical specifications that may have important economic implications. Problems related to spurious regression could arise from the mixed order of integration of the series used and from the lack of a long run stable...

This paper considers the distributional dynamics of a well‐known corruption index. Specifically, we are interested in evaluating whether corruption is best characterized as multimodal (i.e. pointing to clusters of countries with persistently different levels of corruption) and whether there...

This paper considers the distributional dynamics of a well-known corruption index. Specifically, we are interested in evaluating whether corruption is best characterized as multimodal (i.e. pointing to clusters of countries with persistently different levels of corruption) and whether there have...

We develop a horizontal R&D growth model that allows us to investigate the different channels through which financial reforms affect R&D investment and patent activity. First, a "micro" reformthat abolishes barriers to entry in the banking sector produces a straightforward result: a decrease in...

We contribute a new method for dealing with the problem of endogeneity of the threshold variable in threshold vector auto-regression (TVAR) models. Drawing on copula theory, enables us to capture the dependence structure between the threshold variable and the vector of TVAR innovations,...

Capital-labor substitution and TFP estimates are essential features of many economic models. Such models typically embody a balanced growth path. This often leads researchers to estimate models imposing stringent prior choices on technical change. We demonstrate that estimation of the...