The potential welfare benefits from free movement of people are large. Especially in Europe, actual flows are lower than one would expect on the basis of economic differences between regions and countries. This paper empirically investigates the importance of cultural barriers in explaining the...

This paper empirically investigates the development of cross-country differences in energy- and labour productivity. The analysis is performed at a detailed sectoral level for 14 OECD countries, covering the period 1970–1997. A σ-convergence analysis reveals that the development over time of...

This paper analyses the (differential) impact of perceived expectations and uncertainty on investment spending in small and large firms. We analyse two types of investment, viz. aggregate investment and investment in energy-saving technologies, using Dutch firm level data. The results show that...