The United States and European Union differ significantly in terms of their innovative capacity: the former have been able to gain and maintain world leadership in innovation and technology while the latter continues to lag. Notwithstanding the magnitude of this innovation gap and the political...

Thomas Friedman (2005) argues that the expansion of trade, the internationalization of firms, the galloping process of outsourcing, and the possibility of networking is creating a 'flat world': a level playing field where individuals are empowered and better off. This paper challenges this view...

Research on the institutional foundations of economic development emphasizes either rulebound systems of exchange or informal bonds between individuals and within small groups. This corresponds to a classical division in social science, between the forces of society and those of community. This...

This paper examines the association between one of the most basic institutional forms, the family, and a series of demographic, educational, social, and economic indicators across regions in Europe. Using Emmanuel Todd’s classification of medieval European family systems, we identify potential...

This article examines the effect of the degree of decentralization of social protection expenditure on economic growth, using panel data for twenty OECD countries over the period 1990-2005. Our results show a positive impact of the subnational share of total government expenditure in social...

This paper examines whether differences in educational externalities affect individual earnings across regions in the EU. Using microeconomic data from the European Community Household Panel, the analysis relies on spatial economic analysis in order to determine to what extent differences in...

This paper provides an empirical study of the determinants of income inequality across regions of the EU. Using the European Community Household Panel data-set for 102 regions over the period 1995-2000, it analyses how micro-economic changes in human capital distribution affect income inequality...

The majority of the literature on fiscal decentralization has tended to stress that the greater capacity of decentralized governments to tailor policies to local preferences and to be innovative in the provision of policies and public services, the greater the potential for economic efficiency...

Much of the recent worldwide trend towards devolution has been driven by the belief that fiscal decentralization is likely to have a positive effect on government efficiency and economic growth. It is generally assumed that the transfer of powers and resources to lower tiers of government allows...