We investigate why Italy's labor productivity stopped growing in the mid-1990s. We find no evidence that this slowdown is due to competition from China, Italy's protective labor regulations or increasingly inefficient institutions. By contrast, the data suggest that Italy's slowdown was more...

Why is underdevelopment so persistent? One explanation is that poor countries do not have institutions that can support growth. Because institutions (both good and bad) are persistent, underdevelopment is persistent. An alternative view is that underdevelopment comes from poor education. Neither...