This paper is concerned with economic consequences of unethical governance. A framework is set out, based on principles of Friedrich Nietzsche, that ties poverty and inequality to unethical behavior of the strong toward the weak. The paper contributes to an understanding of why poverty and...

Recent contributions in economic geography reflect renewed interest in issues of location and spatial concentration of economic activities, yet there are still few empirical studies of developing countries, particularly in Africa. This paper aims to contribute to this body of knowledge by (i)...

The paper analyzes the following three questions of importance for the quality of design and effectiveness of the World Bank's budget support (development policy operations--DPOs): What has been the quality of macro-fiscal frameworks and their building blocks in DPOs? What factors may be related...

Russia has seen even higher oil windfall in the past few months, which translates into likely fiscal surpluses 2011 and 2012. The government should not miss the opportunity provided by a large oil windfall to substantially improve its long-term fiscal position, further reduce inflation, and,...

Recent unilateral dollarizations in Ecuador and El Salvador (that adopted the US dollar) and Montenegro (that adopted the euro) showed that unilaeral monetary unions can be implemented and sustained even under harsh economic conditions. The paper reviewes recent experience with such...

The paper considers the choice of a tax system in the transition from socialism. The paper reviews the tax system in Bulgaria inherited from socialism and revenues generated in the early transition. It then describes the relatively high tax rate, Western European-type tax system introduced in...

Understanding dollarisation and related debates requires an appreciation of what might be called the "calculus of dollarisation," i.e., a tally of real and perceived costs and benefits of full dollarisation (the adoption of the foreign currency such as the dollar as legal tender in a given...

The endogenous relationship between income-per-worker (Y) and product price (E') under labor management or, more broadly, market syndicalism, causes P to play a critical role in clearing product and labor markets. The level of P that clears the product market, however, may differ from the level...

With heightened uncertainties and moderating global and Western European growth and oil prices, and volatile capital flows, Russia is likely to grow by 4.2 percent in 2010, followed by 4.5 percent in 2011 and 3.5 percent in 2012 as domestic demand expands in line with gradual improvements in the...