This paper examines how institutional conditions in transition economies compare with those in the rest of the world using various indicators of governance. The focus is on the countries in Central and Eastern Europe and the former Soviet Union but, when possible, transition countries, in Asia...

The extensive public sector measures in support of the fi nancial sector have been key to managing the fi nancial crisis that erupted in mid-2007 and intensified after the bankruptcy of Lehman Brothers. This article looks into the measures taken by central banks to contain the impact of the...

Political risk represents an important hidden transaction cost that reduces international trade. This paper investigates the claim that German public export credit guarantees (Hermes guarantees) mitigate this friction to trade flows and hence promote exports. We employ an empirical trade gravity...