Search results for "Government"
showing 10 items of 1098 documents
Does one size fit all? The impact of cognitive skills on economic growth
2016
Les Documents de Travail de l'IREDU, n°2016-1; This paper tests for heterogeneous effects of cognitive skills on economic growth across countries. Using a new extended dataset on cognitive skills and controlling for potential endogeneity, we find that the magnitude of the effect is about 60 per cent higher for low-income countries compared to high-income countries, and it more than doubles when low TFP countries are compared to high TFP countries. There are also marked differences across geographic regions. Using data on the share of the population with advanced and minimum skill levels, our results also indicate that high-income countries should focus on increasing the number of high skill…
Public–private sector wage differentials and the business cycle
2013
Abstract This paper uses microeconomic data for the period from 1990 to 2004 to examine the relationship between public–private sector wage differentials and labour market conditions in Finland. The results show that the public sector wage premium is strongly counter-cyclical. On average, a 10 percent increase in the local unemployment rate increases the public–private sector wage gap by one percent. Separate analyses by government sector and quantiles of the distribution of wages reveal that it is local government workers and those working at lower skill levels who benefit more from increasing unemployment rate. The paper also exploits the longitudinal structure of the data to examine whet…
National Preferences and the European Union Presidency: The Case of German Energy Policy towards Russia*
2011
This article analyses the formation and development of Member State preferences and positions before and during the European Union (EU) Presidency term. The empirical analysis focuses on the Federal Republic of Germany's policy concerning EU–Russian relations, especially regarding energy policy. The extent to which liberal intergovernmentalism (LI) furthers our understanding of state behaviour in the context of the EU Presidency is questioned. The findings suggest that LI adequately explains the formation of German positions prior to assuming office, as its policy objectives are chiefly influenced by domestic producers' interests. However, LI cannot satisfactorily account for German governm…
Governance, entrepreneurship and economic growth
2012
In general terms, governance simply means how an organization is governed. It is the science of government performance and behaviour and it refers to several processes that must include historical, cultural, social and political determinants. For this reason, it is possible to establish a relationship between governance and institutions. Communities of persons, firms and institutions are essential ingredients of good governance and its analysis could be developed considering two possibilities. The first is considering the factors, such as entrepreneurship, by which government would more efficiently increase economic growth. Second is taking into account the economic results obtained by gove…
Are discriminatory procurement policies motivated by protectionism ?
1995
When purchasing goods and services, governments often discriminate in favour of domestic suppliers. It is widely assumed that such behaviour is motivated by protectionism. Although this interpretation is sometimes valid, it is also puzzling. After reviewing some of the puzzles, the paper proposes an alternative explanation of preferential procurement based on the assumption that governmental buyers want to purchase goods and services at minimum cost, but must do this in a context in which, because of the presence of unverifiable services, contracts are necessarily incomplete. The paper argues that preferential purchasing can guarantee the efficient delivery of these unverifiable services.
Co-movement of public spending in the G7
2010
Abstract The size of government in the G7 countries in the last fifty years follows a common pattern (see the left panel of Fig. 1 below): it grows in the first three decades, and then turns flat at the beginning of the nineties, for all countries alike. We highlight this common pattern in a dynamic factor model, and argue that a satisfactory explanation for it would be desirable.
Socioeconomic effects and the role of public spending decomposition on income mobility: a moderated regression model
2022
The aim of this paper is to investigate, empirically, what components of public spending imply a decreasing effect on income mobility, and what components create income opportunities, also discussing the role of government effectiveness. The role of the components of government expenditure is analysed in the association between intergenerational income mobility and socioeconomic characteristics, which are relevant for the life chances of children. Using the Global Database on Intergenerational Mobility, containing estimates of intergenerational income mobility at country level, and applying the moderated regression model, the results show strikingly consistent patterns. A country with more …
De la innovación social a la economía solidaria. Claves prácticas para el desarrollo de políticas públicas
2016
El presente artículo ahonda en la identificación de puntos en común entre la multitud de prácticas que constituyen lo que se conoce como economía social y solidaria (ESS) y el fomento de la innovación social como un reto actual para las políticas públicas. El objetivo es evaluar los modos en que las Administraciones pueden hacer hincapié en favor de la economía social y solidaria considerando su importancia estratégica para el desarrollo económico local. El texto combina la revisión de la literatura específica con la exposición de experiencias ubicadas en la provincia de Barcelona partiendo de un trabajo de campo desarrollado mediante entrevistas en profundidad con informadores privilegiado…
Towards sustainable coexistence: People and wild mammals in Baluran National Park, Indonesia
2018
Abstract The paper offers a critical discussion of resource use in a national park, Baluran, in Indonesia. In general, an increasing accept of the need for livelihood security, also for people living in or near natural conservation areas, are challenging traditional systems of national park governance. Finding ways to balance the needs of local populations against the necessity to secure biodiversity and environmental sustainability becomes important, and the main question in our research is how to accommodate an existing society in Baluran without a further negative impact on endangered mammals. Based on common pool resource management and co-management theories and thorough empirical inve…
La filiera siciliana della pasta: un'applicazione della netchain analysis
2016
The system of Sicilian durum wheat is facing, as indeed is happening to the entire food system, the evolution of consumption patterns toward higher quality requirements: health-wise, primarily, but also including some intangible requirements. Recent acquisitions in the field of healthy food, have called attention to some specific characteristics of Sicilian durum wheat. The durum wheat sector represents a major landmark for regional agriculture, being by far the most widespread arable crop in Sicily; a crop that, over the past 30 years, has evolved considerably, due to the impact of EU regulations. Currently, the whole Sicilian cereal-pasta chain shows shortcomings in organization and size,…