Search results for "jel:H1"

Reforms and decentralization: friends or foes

2013

Systemic concerns about markets, capitalism and the role of the state in the economy are salient again. Relatively large-scale reforms of economic and social arrangements are seriously considered. Historical experience suggests that reforms of that kind are sometimes associated with important changes in institutional arrangements pertaining to political decentralization. To explore the relationship between economic reforms and decentralization, the paper argues that a reform has two dimensions. It is a process and it is a design. The organization of the paper is inspired by that distinction. For economists, it seems natural to reason in terms of design -- that is, to perceive reform as the …

How Do Institutions Affect Structural Unemployment in Times of Crises?

2012

This paper examines the effect of economic crises on structural unemployment using an Autoregressive Distributed Lags model and accounting for the role of institutional settings on an unbalanced panel of 30 OECD economies from 1960 to 2006. We found that downturns have, on average, a significant positive impact on the level of structural unemployment rate. The maximum impact varies with the severity of the downturn. Institutions (such as employment protection legislation, average replacement ratio and product market regulation) influence both the extent of the initial shock and the adjustment pattern in the aftermath of an economic downturn.

Asymmetric decentralisation, economic cycle, regional and local government’s borrowing in Spain

2014

This paper investigates the evolution of sub-central government borrowing in Spain over the period 1996–2011. The arguments and figures provided show that the intense process of political and fiscal decentralisation that took place over the 1990s and 2000s did not lead to higher debt ratios in terms of GDP at these tiers of government until 2007. Although a kind of overspending bias was in effect until the late 2000s, the paper shows that the evolution of GDP and tax revenues provided regional and local governments with enough resources to vigorously pursue their devolved public policy responsibilities and still keep their debt ratios under control. However, since 2008, when the world finan…

How do Banking Crises Impact on Income Inequality?

2012

We show that banking crises have an important effect on income distribution: inequality increases before banking crisis episodes and sharply declines afterwards. We also find that, while a large government size does not per se seem to reduce inequality, a rise in financial depth (i.e. better access to credit provided by the banking sector) contributes to a more equal distribution of income.

The shadow economy in Portugal: An analysis with the MIMIC approach

2007

The paper estimates the Portuguese Shadow Economy (SE) from 1977 to 2004 and tests the statistical relationships between the SE and other economic variables. In order to carry out the econometric analysis, a multiple indicators multiple causes (MIMIC) model with means and intercepts is applied. The main causes of the Portuguese SE are analyzed and economic policies to reduce it are suggested. An appraisal on the reliability of estimates and an alternative benchmark strategy for the MIMIC approach are proposed.

MANAGEMENT CHALLENGES - A PREVIEW IN FUTURE OF CAPITALISM

2012

The economic crisis comes in the context the deepest political crisis faced by the EU today. Economic catastrophe led to the strongest economic crisis since the '30s. Downturns were commonly explained using technical arguments, economic or financial reasons. Because they were discussed by experts in language often inaccessible, so often we face today and dangerous misunderstanding of the population crisis. When talking about economic crises tend to forget that they come in a political context, social and cultural. At the same time, how society reacts to the crisis is decisively influenced by the values it embraces.

Presentación del monográfico: "Fondos estructurales de la Unión Europea: balance, reforma y perspectivas"

2000

Romanian educational system - component of the national economy

2009

National economy as a stand-alone entity, is a set of resources (natural, material, human, etc..), production activities, trade, service etc. that have established branches, sectors, etc. at a country’s level, between which are established reciprocal links which is based on the material and spiritual movement values, ensures the operation and economic development of society. Thus, the national economy’s system appears as a set of interconnected elements through economic, educational, informational, technological, cultural, etc. relations according to a predetermined goal, or serving the same goal.

STRATEGIC ROLE OF ACTIVITY IN THE EFFECTIVE MANAGEMENT OF A COMPANY FROM THE SME SECTOR IN THE ERA OF GLOBAL CRISIS

2012

The year 2009 ended in Poland and other EU countries under the sign of the Great Depression, which began on the other side of the ocean but it covered almost the whole world. The most vulnerable to the crisis turned out to be companies from the SME sector which, in the European Union SMEs represent 99.8% companies operating within the Union, and their sales account for about 56.2% total revenues. EU small and medium-sized companies employ more than 66% workforce and they are the ones most heavily affected by the crisis. In Poland the company from the SME sector accounts for over 90% of all businesses operating in our country. And they were faced in front of the huge challenge which was how …

Seat Competitiveness and Redistricting: Evidence from Voting on Municipal Mergers

2013

We analyze how (anticipated) changes in the competitiveness of the seats of municipal councilors affect their voting behavior over municipal mergers. The competitiveness of the seats changes because the merger changes the composition of political competitors and the number of available seats in the next election. We use this variation for identification and find that the smaller the increase in the competitiveness of a councilor's seat, the more likely he is to vote for the merger. These effects are not related to the behavioral responses of the voters, but arise from the councilors’ desire to avoid electoral competition.