This study critically examines HYBRIT, a Swedish flagship project led by state-owned LKAB to produce fossil-free sponge iron using hydrogen from fossil-free electricity. Framed as central to EU's green transition, HYBRIT promised CO₂ cuts exceeding Sweden's total emissions but faced major...

International environmental agreements (IEAs) often condition entry into force on ratification by a minimum number of countries, yet deep environmental commitments frequently face strong domestic political resistance. We study how IEA breadth, through minimum ratification thresholds (MRTs), and...

The n-player Tullock contest with complete information is known to admit explicit solutions in special cases, such as (i) homogeneous valuations, (ii) constant returns, and (iii) two contestants. But can the model be solved more generally? In this paper, we show that key characteristics of the...

This paper links microeconomic theory with the political economy of regulation. We explain why modern economies tend to become persistently over-regulated and we outline a practical strategy for deregulation. We argue that regulations are not the works of a benevolent central planner but rather...

Transparency initiatives are well-known tools to foster trust and empower citizens. To explain why some governments introduce them but others do not, we model these initiatives as a signal that complements the information provided by visible government performance and conduct a randomized survey...

Understanding disparities in contest success is central to explaining how competition shapes the distribution of rewards, influence, or market shares. We introduce the Proportional Play Equilibrium (PPE), a boundedly rational alternative to Nash Equilibrium (NE) grounded in the Illusion of...

Economic and social situations where groups have to compete are ubiquitous. Such group contests create both a coordination problem within and between groups. Introducing leaders may help to mitigate these coordination problems. However, little is known about the effect of leadership in group...

Economic and social situations where groups have to compete are ubiquitous. Such group contests create both a coordination problem within and between groups. Introducing leaders may help to mitigate these coordination problems. However, little is known about the effect of leadership in group...

We synthesize research on conflict as a fundamental economic phenomenon, arguing that the implications of the "dark side of self-interest" have received insufficient attention in economics. We define conflict as interactions where parties choose costly inputs that are adversarially combined...

We examine how political capitalism can develop within modern states that typically have many types of checks and balances. We first discuss how this can occur through various influence channels: government executive and regulatory agencies, legislators, litigation, the press, and the public...

We examine EU and UK plans for achieving a fossil-free energy system by 2050, centered on massive electrification and large-scale deployment of wind and solar power. Using empirical trends, cost analyses, and system-function assessments, we argue that current strategies underestimate real...

This article investigates the relationship between patterns of elite accumulation and conflict dynamics in Mozambique's natural-resource economy, with a specific focus on the gas-rich Cabo Delgado province. Utilizing the politics of anticipation and the accumulation by dispossession and...

While the literature extensively explores the structural enablers of corruption and its adverse effects on economic performance, less is known about how the state of the economy influences corruption and political accountability. To address this gap, we develop a theoretical model in which...

We link a new database of politically exposed persons with the complete register of firms established in Mozambique since Independence. Focusing on the network of connections between firm owners, we use a generalized event study analysis to show that holders of political office achieve...

Herein, we further examine how we can value nonmarket goods and services by considering the costs associated with environmental conflicts. Focusing on two American rules-the asymmetric reimbursement system and the contingent fee contract-we develop a strategic game-theoretic model in which a...

This study analyzes the determinants and dynamics of military spending in the Middle East within the framework of critical political economy, based on data covering the period (1995-2023). The analysis combines approaches from political economy, the rentier-authoritarian state theory, and...

Daron Acemoglu and Pascal Restrepo uncover how automation disproportionately targets tasks that pay workers above-market wages, eroding those rents and amplifying wage losses for affected workers. Using U.S. data from 1980 to 2016, they show that this “rent dissipation” not only reduces wage...

This study analyzes the determinants and dynamics of military spending in the Middle East within the framework of critical political economy, based on data covering the period (1995-2023). The analysis combines approaches from political economy, the rentier-authoritarian state theory, and...

This study critically examines HYBRIT (Hydrogen Breakthrough Ironmaking Technology), a Swedish flagship project-led by the government-owned iron ore company LKAB-to produce fossil-free sponge iron using hydrogen from fossil-free electricity. Positioned as a cornerstone of the EU Green Deal and...

The entire world has been trying to expedite the transition to digital governance since it escalates the efficiency of an economy. However, the impacts of digital governance on natural resources are not well-explored. Given this background, this study intends to probe the dynamic effect of...

Since Mario Draghi's 2024 report on "The Future of European Competitiveness", identifying European (i) weaknesses in global innovation and, consequently, in global market impact, as well as (ii) regulatory overburden, the term competitiveness has been propelled into massive popularity. For...