Drawing on a representative sample of firms, this paper presents some microeconomic evidence on the productivity growth process in Croatia since the onset of recession (2008-12). Four types of results are highlighted. First, there is a persistent (and increasing) heterogeneity in the performance...

This paper applies meta-analysis techniques to a sample of 37 studies published during 2004-2011. These papers assess the impact of direct subsidies on business research and development. The results show that the effect of public investment on research and development is predominantly positive...

What enables Ecuadorian manufacturing firms to start exporting? And what are the determinants of the share of total sales exported by a firm, once the decision of becoming an exporter has been made? We apply a Heckman selection model to the Ecuador's Investment Climate Survey (ICS) to...

Two sources of growth are firm learning and innovation. Using a unique panel data for 1,686 firms in six countries (Bulgaria, Hungary, Latvia, Lithuania, Romania, and Turkey), this paper applies panel data estimators and Juhn-Murphy Pierce decomposition in order to identify the effects of the...

Tha aim of the paper is to assess the impacts of trade liberalization on the Brazilian manufacturing industry over the 1989-96 period. To this end, a series of indicators was built which shed new light on the technical efficiency and allocational effects of the liberalization. The results...

NOTE: This is a description of the paper and is not the actual abstract. The paper looks at the impacts of trade liberalization on Brazilian manufacturing industry over the 1989-96 period. The aim is to assess the technical efficiency and allocative effects of the liberalization. The results...

The impact of regulation on the economic performance of regulated sectors depends crucially on the appropriateness of the design of the regulatory agencies' structure and process, that is, on regulatory governance. Governance refers not to the policies that emerge from regulation, but rather to...

Romania identified competition as key to its effective economic development and is positioning the Competition Council to become more visible and effective. Improving Romania's competitive environment will attract new firms, weed out inefficient ones, and enhance growth potential. An effective...

In understanding the economics of COVID-19, it is useful to start decomposing the issue in four parts: (i) the public health problem, id est, the characteristics of the disease and its epidemiology; (ii) the impact of the disease on economic activity; (iii) the connection between the two; and...

Romania's European Union accession in 2007 has resulted in a substantial reduction of the formal barriers to integration with the European Union Single Market. This study takes stock of the progress by benchmarking product market policies in Romania to those of European Union countries, as...