The concepts of absorptive capacity and innovative capability have been introduced to describe abilities of a country to imitate and, accordingly, to create more advanced technologies. In this paper we suggest new indicators of these two abilities. To calculate them, we develop an endogenous...

This article explains the peculiarities of institutional effects on growth rates in post-communist countries. By proposing a certain dependence of the institution-growth nexus on the nature of institutional emergence, the distinction between revolutionary and evolutionary processes of...

This study introduces a comprehensive model of institutional grafting by examining the formation of legal institutions as shaped by three forces: (1) cultural, (2) structural, and (3) political. The model is used to argue that a country's growth rates are a function of the distance that new...

This paper aims at examining the impact of political transitions on democracy, corruption and growth in countries which knew democratic changes. The results of our study indicate that these changes positively affect implementation of democratic principles, the struggle against corruption and...

In this paper, I consider a specific channel through which trust between parties to an exchange can go on to affect nations’ comparative advantage in certain industries. My approach revolves around the autonomy that employers (principals) grant to workers (agents), which is a key feature of...

This paper aims at examining the impact of political transitions on democracy, corruption and growth in countries which knew democratic changes. The results of our study indicate that these changes positively affect implementation of democratic principles, the struggle against corruption and...

This paper aims at examining the impact of political transitions on democracy, corruption and growth in countries which knew democratic changes. The results of our study indicate that these changes positively affect implementation of democratic principles, the struggle against corruption and...

There exists convincing evidence that democratic countries are less volatile. This conclusion is usually reached with respect to volatility as measured by the standard deviation of annual growth rates of per capita GDP which includes both low and high frequency fluctuations. However, recently...

We examine the institutional development of a set of transition economies since the dissolution of the USSR, with a particular focus on the effect of natural resource dependency, EU accession and institutional experience. In a cross-sectional analysis these factors show a significant association...

The statement institutions matter has become commonplace. A precondition for it to be supported by empirical evidence, is, however, that institutions are measurable. Glaeser et al. (2004) attacks many studies claiming to prove the relevance of institutions for economic development as being based...