Institutions are now widely believed to be important in explaining performance. In this paper, we analyze whether commonly used measures of institutions have any significant, measurable impact on performance, whether of countries or firms. We look at three 'levels' of institutions and associated...

Institutions are now widely believed to be important in explaining performance. In this paper, we analyze whether commonly used measures of institutions have any significant, measurable impact on performance, whether of countries or firms. We look at three 'levels' of institutions and associated...

Institutions are now widely believed to be important in explaining performance. In this paper, we analyse whether commonly used measures of institutions have any significant, measurable impact on performance, whether of countries or firms. We look at three ‘levels’ of institutions and...

The on-going degradation of global public goods such as biodiversity and climate regulation due to the loss of natural tropical ecosystems has generated demand for evidence on the effectiveness of alternative policy instruments for environmental conservation. Economists initially responded with...

We investigate whether the impact of institutions depends not just on their current state, but also on how they came to be. In particular, we hypothesize that while economic freedom that emerges spontaneously may be growth promoting, economic freedom that emerges as a result of costly lobbying...

What is the role of economic institutions in the effectiveness of fiscal policy? This paper argues that the extent to which fiscal policy affects long-term growth depends on how economically free a country enjoys. The authors use a sample of 72 countries over the period 1990 through 2015 to...