Commodity resources offer vast opportunities for development. In the long run, however, the performance of commodity-rich countries tends to fall short of expectations, as commodity rents induce macroeconomic volatility and undermine incentives to improve institutions. The paper looks at the...

The literature has identified the quality of political institutions in the transition region as an essential but understudied component of growth, transition and reform. This paper aims to disentangle the determinants of democratic institutions by investigating if high income inequality is...

With two very large mining projects expected to reach full production this decade, Mongolia is entering a commodity boom. History teaches us that commodity revenues offer unique opportunities for development but can also depress long-term economic prospects by increasing macroeconomic...

This paper examines institutional differences between the former East and West Germany and four central European transition countries (the Czech Republic, Hungary, Poland and the Slovak Republic). Using enterprise survey data we show that the quality of both formal and informal institutions in...