Kocenda (2001) introduced the test for nonlinear dependencies in time series data based on the correlation integral. The idea of the test is to estimate the correlation dimension by integrating over a range of proximity parameter epsilon. However, there is an unexplored avenue if one wants to...

This paper reviews some reasons why natural resource abundance and extensive agriculture appear to impede economic growth around the world. The paper presents empirical, cross-sectional evidence of various aspects of this relationship in the transition economies in Central and Eastern Europe and...

We analyse the effects of simple strategic trade policy in a duopoly with vertical product differentiation where firms from a developed and less developed country compete in both qualities and prices in the domestic market. The distinction between the developed and developing country firm is...

One of the arguments against the Fair Trade scheme is that the guaranteed minimum price tends to depress world prices and thus the incomes of non-participating farmers (e.g. The Economist, 2006). We develop a model that distinguishes between the impact of the introduction of a Fair Trade market...

The usual conclusion in the literature is that sunspots reduce welfare because of the agents' risk aversion. However, if sunspots can lead to escape from an inferior steady state (poverty trap), this conclusion does not necessarily hold. Escaping trajectories can have much higher welfare than...

I study the competition between one nonprofit and one for-profit firm under various objective functions of the nonprofit firm. The two firms optimize their objectives with respect to quality and price of their products. The nonprofit firm serves one-half of the market under pure quality...

Mobility restrictions (e.g., severance payment, life-long tenure, and divorce ban) are widely observed. This paper is an attempt to understand why there are these restrictions. I present a model economy that features production teams and focuses on the search for partners and the formation and...

This research analyzes the effects of recent housing price appreciation on aggregate welfare. It generalizes the results of Bajari et al (2005), who find that in a credit unconstrained economy with exogenous housing prices there is no effect of housing price appreciation on aggregate welfare....

The novelty of this work is in the presentation of a theoretical frame work that allows the modeling of an announced switch of the monetary regime. In our experiment, the monetary authority announces stabilization of the nominal exchange rate after the announced number of periods. We analyze the...

Bad policies (i.e., policies harmful to private producers such as excessive taxation, arbitrary confiscation, and negligence of pubic goods) are observed in quite a few countries. These countries tend to have autocratic regimes.I explore a reason why bad policies may benefit autocrats.I present...