We revisit Western Europe's record with labor-productivity convergence, and tentatively extrapolate its implications for the future path of Eastern Europe. The poorer Western European countries caught up with the richer ones through both higher rates of physical capital accumulation and greater...

We revisit Western Europe's record with labor-productivity convergence, and tentatively extrapolate its implications for the future path of Eastern Europe. The poorer Western European countries caught up with the richer ones through both higher rates of physical capital accumulation and greater...

Existing wisdom links increased openness to trade to greater macroeconomic volatility, as trade induces a country to specialize, increasing its exposure to sector-specific shocks. Evidence suggests, however, that country-wide shocks are at least as important as sectoral shocks in shaping...

The authors revisit Western Europe’s record with labor–productivity convergence and tentatively extrapolate its implications for the future path of Eastern Europe. The poorer Western European countries caught up with the richer ones through both higher rates of physical capital accumulation...

We revisitWestern Europe’s record with labor-productivity convergence and tentativelyextrapolate its implications for the future path of Eastern Europe. Thepoorer Western European countries caught up with the richer ones through bothhigher rates of physical capital accumulation and greater...

We revisit Western Europe’s record with labor-productivity convergence, and tentatively extrapolate its implications for the future path of Eastern Europe. The poorer Western European countries caught up with the richer ones through both higher rates of physical capital accumulation and...

Between 2010 and 2013, the Czech Republic undertook a significant fiscal consolidation that cut the headline government deficit by about 4.5 pps., bringing it well below the reference value in the Treaty. This consolidation was largely achieved by discretionary fiscal measures in two areas:...