We estimate the degree of competition in the banking sectors of 148 countries over the period 1997-2010 using three methods: the Lerner index, the adjusted Lerner index, and the profit elasticity. Marginal cost estimates required for all methods are obtained using a flexible semi-parametric...

There is an intense debate over whether fuel economy standards or fuel taxation is the more efficient policy instrument to raise fuel economy and reduce CO2 emissions of cars. The aim of this paper is to analyze the impact of standards and fuel prices on new car fuel economy with the aid of...

We show that books for general audiences are similarly priced internationally but textbooks are substantially more expensive in the United States. We argue that cost factors cannot explain this phenomenon and discuss several demand-side explanations

We investigate the relationship between tourism specialization and economic growth. We deviate from previous studies - which have reported mixed evidence - by allowing the relationship to take a nonlinear form. We nd that tourism specialization is associated with higher rates of economic growth...