The existing literature on the sources and nature of productivity growth during the early industrialization stages of U.S. has identified the combination of intellectual property rights (IPRs) with a large middle class and broad participation in markets as explanations for the extraordinary...

In developing countries, microfinance has been the darling of the development community, and in developed countries, microfinance fits well with Third Ways ideas. What are the challenges and opportunities for the attempt to replicate microfinance in the United States? This paper attempts to...

This paper develops a partial equilibrium model to account for stylized facts about the behavior of oligarchs, politically and economically strong conglomerates in transition and developing countries. The model predicts that oligarchs are more likely than other owners to invest in productivity...

En vue de concorder avec les objectifs imposés par la conjoncture économique actuelle, conciliant globalisation et régionalisation, les pays méditerranéens ont décidé de contourner leurs différends au profit d’une coopération Nord-Sud. A cet effet, un partenariat liant 27 pays des...

This paper studies the benefits of participation in micro finance programs, and shows that although membership in these programs is an effective instrument in combating inter-seasonal consumption differences, there is a threshold level of length of participation beyond which benefits begin to...

This paper examines the role of money in market and centrally planned economies. It then proposes a program and sequence of institutional, macroeconomic and monetary reform aimed at achieving a stable transition. An egalitarian redistribution of the state's custodial assets to its citizens is...

Attraverso una rassegna critica della letteratura, questo articolo vuole fornire una prima introduzione al concetto di capitale sociale - con particolare riferimento alla sua rilevanza nello studio dei processi di sviluppo - e dare conto del dibattito in corso su questo tema da più di un...

The rapidly changing environment of the transition may create special problems for calculation of index numbers that require a fixed basket of goods and retail outlets. Using referent-level data we find that fixed- weight Laspeyres index on average overstated cost of living increases by...

If there is one single expectation of Government, which we share throughout our lives, it is security and protection. This is one of the most basic functions of all forms of Government throughout the ages. This policy paper, inevitably concentrates on those aspects of reform, which are primarily...

The Fifth CERGE Lecture on Practical Aspects of Privatization held at Charles University in Prague on February 6 1992 It is about the process of voucher privatization of state owned enterprises after the fall of communism in Czechoslovakia. It starts with brief history of voucher privatization...