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The article discusses the ongoing green transition towards climate neutrality in 2050 with a focus on the options of green growth, zero- or de-growth. First, the key facts about the greenhouse effect and the status quo are shown with special attention to the industrialisation of emerging economies as the key contributors to greenhouse gas emissions since about 1980. Second, the features and policies for facilitating the transition are analysed. The carbon price emerges as a key global price that needs public rather than market control. Third, the core debates on the feasibility of economic growth in ecological economics are used to shed more light on the present issues at stake. Finally, the quest for moderate global green growth is confirmed in order to accomplish decarbonization of the planet and terminate extractive capitalism as far as fossil energy is concerned; however, these attempts cannot evade the finiteness of natural resources, including land and renewable resources. The green transition leads likely close to global zero-growth of GDP which would eventually terminate the age of capital accumulation, the heart of capitalism.

Before Hugo Chavez burst into the political scene in Venezuela, Argentina's Juan Peron (1895- 1974) was considered the quintessential Latin American populist leader. He ruled Argentina from mid 1943 until September 1955 and between 1973 and 1974 and his political party has been in power two thirds of the time since the reestablishment of democracy in 1983. Perón's economic policies between 1946 and 1949 are also considered archetypical. The Peronist economic policy paradigm (PEPP) emphasized income redistribution and a fiscally induced expansion of aggregate demand at the expense of productivity and allocative efficiency. Although the ideological roots of Peronism can be directly traced back to Fascism, when it came to his economic policies, Perón claimed to have been inspired by FDR's New Deal and Keynes's General Theory. However, in mosts respects, in their early stage, Peronist economic policies resemble more those proposed by Sir Oswald Mosley (1896-1980) in 1930. This paper describes the PEPP, its implementation and results and evaluates several hypothesis regarding its intellectual roots.

After being dormant for several decades, populism has resurfaced in Europe and North America. Since the beginning of the 21st century Europe's populist parties have tripled their vote and were able to put their leaders into government posts in eleven countries, which has increased thirteen fold the population living under populist regimes. The virus has even contaminated Anglo-Saxon countries, which were considered immune. This new strain of populism seems different from the one that infected Latin America for most of the second half of the 20th century. Instead of fostering class struggle it appeals to racism, xenophobia and anti-globalization. In this regard, it has a closer resemblance to early 20th century European populist strains. Although much has been written about populism, a widely accepted definition remains elusive. Before Hugo Chavez burst into the political scene in Venezuela, Argentina's Juan Perón (1895-1974) was considered the quintessential Latin American populist leader. Perón was undoubtedly one of the most successful politicians of the 20th century. Although he entered politics in 1943 Peronism still dominates Argentine politics. Even though it may seem harder to define than populism, its study offers valuable clues about populism's nature and meaning that are relevant today in modern advanced democracies.

This article presents a summary of the main theoretical arguments and policy recommendations of Modern Monetary Theory (MMT) and traces back its intellectual origins to the writings on money of Georg F. Knapp and on fiscal policy of Abba P. Lerner. It also presents evidence on two countries that followed MMT like policies: Germany between 1939 and 1945 and Argentina with brief interruptions since 1946. The main conclusion of the article is that any country that consistently follows the policy prescriptions of MMT will inevitably experience high inflation and lower (and even negative) economic growth.

After being dormant for decades, in the last two decades, right-wing populism resurfaced strongly in Europe and the US channeling a reaction against globalization. This resurgence has prompted economists to pay increasing attention to populist economics. Current versions of right wing populism share many elements with early fascism, particularly the type that developed by the British Union of Fascists (BUF) in the UK under the leadership of Sir Oswald Mosley. Less aggressive and racist than its continental counterparts, one of its pillars was isolationism, which figures prominently in the platforms of modern populist parties in Europe and North America. Although more sophisticated in his economic thinking than Hitler and Mussolini, Mosley's was less successful politically. His stubborn obnoxiousness and inability to acknowledge his mistakes cemented his status as a political pariah and contributed to the academic neglect of his 1930 program of radical economic reform which he later incorporated into the BUF's platform. The study of Mosleynomics also has historical value. Mosley's proposals not only contributed to the interwar policy debate but also anticipated many key elements of the economic policies of fascist and non-fascist regimes on both sides of the Atlantic, not only in the US, Germany and Italy in the 1930s but also in the UK under the Labor Party and Argentina under Perón in the immediate postwar. This essay seeks to contribute to fill a gap in the literature, by tracing the intellectual roots and evolution of Mosley's economic policy proposals.

Africa most populous black nations remain underdeveloped, mainly due to shambolic industrial sector performance. Rising problems of insecurity, corrupt practices, consumerism structure have made gains from capital inflows minimal. Little empirical credence has been leaned to the capital inflow-industrial output growth relationship in Nigeria. This anomaly has resulted in shortsighted policy formulation and attendant consequences.This paper examined international capital flows and industrial performance in Nigeria. The paper employed the two-step Engle and Granger estimation procedure and the Granger Causality to estimate parameters of the indices of industrial output growth and capital inflows to Nigeria. Findings revealed that labour participation, gross fixed capital formation, foreign direct investment (FDI) and portfolio investment have a significant positive relationship with industrial performance in Nigeria. Findings also revealed unidirectional causality from labour participation, gross fixed capital formation, foreign direct investment (FDI) and portfolio investmentto industrial performance in Nigeria. Based on the findings, the Nigerian government should create an enabling environment to attract more capital inflow that could augment domestic resources with the sole aim of growing the industrial sector.

This paper argues that the traditional social contract that underlies the free market economy has run its course and needs to be replaced by a new contract, based on a new conception of the “empowering economy.” Whereas different social contracts are relevant to different societies, all these contracts have some features in common, addressing some basic human needs that are common to all. These are needs that every thriving society must satisfy. In the presence of current global problems – such as climate change and financial crises – satisfying these needs can also generate the popular approval for multilateral agreements to tackle these problems. The paper identifies three inconvenient truths for the existing social contract: (i) economic performance involves more than material prosperity, (ii) free markets naturally generate inequality, and (iii) human progress rests primarily on cooperation. In response, the paper proposes a new social contract that can be promoted through three policy approaches: (1) policy that focuses not just on material prosperity, but also on personal empowerment and social solidarity, (2) automatic stabilizers that reduce inequalities of economic power and (3) policy that develops the human capabilities of cooperation.

This paper argues that the traditional societal contract that underlies the market economy has run its course and needs to be replaced by a new contract, based on a new conception of the "empowering economy." Whereas different societal contracts are relevant to different societies, there must be some features that all societal contracts will have in common, in order to address some basic human needs that every thriving society must satisfy and to promote popular approval for multilateral agreements to address multilateral problems. The paper proposes a new societal contract that promotes three building blocks of economic policies: (1) automatic stabilizers that reduce inequalities of economic power, (2) policies that focus not just on material prosperity, but also on personal and social empowerment and (3) policies that develop the human capabilities of cooperation and innovation.

Although the application of the conceptual and analytical framework of economics to the study of populism is still in its infancy, great advances have been made in recent years. This paper reviews some key contributions behind this progress. When analyzing populism, economists face two methodological hurdles: lack of consensus and clarity about its definition and reconciling the populist vote with voter rationality. The former has plagued sociologists and political scientists for decades. As to the latter, it raises a conundrum: if populist policies are detrimental to economic growth, as most economists agree, the vote for a populist candidate suggests some irrationality or inefficiency in the political markets. The works reviewed in this paper propose alternative approaches to address both issues. The most promising line of research in the economic analysis of populism draws concepts from other social sciences such political theory, sociology, history and social psychology.

Does democratization reduce the cost of credit? Using global syndicated loan data from 1984 to 2014, we find that democratization has a sizeable negative effect on loan spreads: a one-point increase in the zero-to-ten Polity IV index of democracy shaves at least 19 basis points off spreads, but likely more. Reversals to autocracy hike spreads more strongly. Our findings are robust to the comprehensive inclusion of relevant controls, to the instrumentation with regional waves of democratization, and to a battery of other sensitivity tests. We thus highlight the lower cost of loans as one relevant mechanism through which democratization can affect economic development.

Kyrgyz agriculture experienced substantial reform during the 1990s and early 2000s. Subsequently, the pace of reform slowed and at present the government does not appear to have any clear strategy for further development in the sector. Summarizing the outcomes of these reforms, a certain freedom granted to farmers stands out as one of the main achievements and an important reason for the sector's efficiency. Peasant farms are effectively protected from attempts to administratively regulate crop structure or introduce any other types of market distortions. However, an insufficient level of investments is undermining long-term prospects for development in the sector. Supporting large professional players in the sector is one of the key policy priorities of the government. It is however necessary to provide space for these enterprises to emerge on their own. It is additionally important to ensure that any support policies in favor of such players also provide positive spillovers to the small farmers around them, and do not aim at replacing them mechanically. The list of incomplete policy reforms is very long, especially in the area of natural resource management and provision of other essential public goods. The state of pastures and irrigation systems is alarming and requires government support well above its current level. Understanding the key areas for government intervention and focusing interventions on public goods provision should be the key components of a future agricultural development strategy. In den 1990er und frühen 2000er Jahren durchlebte die Landwirtschaft in Kirgistan eine Reihe erheblicher Reformen. Das Reformtempo wurde anschließend verringert und zurzeit scheint die Regierung über keine klaren Strategien zur Weiterentwicklung des Sektors zu verfügen. Eine gewisse Entscheidungsfreiheit der Bauern ergibt sich als eines der wichtigsten Ergebnisse der Reformen und wirkt als Treibkraft für die Produktivität des Sektors. Von administrativen Regelungen bezüglich der Struktur der Anbauflächen sowie von der Einführung jeglicher Art Marktbeeinflussung sind Kleinbauernbetriebe meistens nicht betroffen. Allerdings werden langfristige Perspektiven zur Entwicklung des Sektors durch unzureichende Investitionen verhindert. Die großen Agrarbetriebe zu unterstützen, ist eine Hauptpriorität der staatlichen Agrarpolitik. Diesen Betrieben sollte aber genügend Raum geboten werden, um ein eigenständiges Wachstum zu gewährleisten. Zudem ist es wichtig, dass solche Unterstützungsmaßnahmen auch eine positive Wirkung auf die Kleinbetriebe haben und nicht nur zu einer mechanischen Ersetzung führen. Besonders in den Bereichen Management der natürlichen Ressourcen und Bereitstellung öffentlicher Güter ist die Liste der unvollständigen politischen Reformen sehr lang. Der Zustand der Weiden und Bewässerungssysteme erregt Besorgnis und benötigt eine deutlich höhere staatliche Unterstützung als bisher. Die Identifikation von Schlüsselbereichen, für die eine staatliche Intervention nötig ist, sowie eine Schwerpunkverlagerung auf die Bereitstellung von öffentlichen Gütern sollten die Hauptkomponenten einer zukünftigen Strategie zur landwirtschaftlichen Entwicklung darstellen.

Перед агропромышленным комплексом Казахстана стоят кардинальные задачи по устойчивому развитию и наращиванию сельскохозяйственного производства, увеличению выпуска экспортоориентированной, конкурентоспособной продукции и обеспечению продовольственной безопасности страны. Сегодня для решения поставленных задач перед АПК страны принята Государственная программа развития АПК на 2017–2021 годы и внедряются в производство новые Законы «О сельскохозяйственных кооперативах», «О пастбищах» и др. Особое внимание в этих документах уделяется созданию крупных товарных хозяйств на основе кооперации. Анализ современного состояния развития сельского хозяйства в республике показал, что мелкие крестьянские хозяйства, состоящие из одной семьи или из группы людей, слабо оснащенные материально-техническими средствами, в одиночестве без объединений общих сил не в состоянии вести расширенное производство и установить межотраслевые связи в процессе производства и переработки. Эти хозяйства не в состоянии самостоятельно решать проблемы повышения конкурентоспособности производимой ими продукции, внедрения инноваций, поставок безопасных для здоровья населения продуктов питания и лишены возможности получать услуги высококвалифицированных специалистов. Основными сдерживающими факторами развития кооперативного движения в республике являются недостаточные меры государственной поддержки сельского хозяйства, кадрового обеспечения, несовершенство правого законодательства, налогообложения и отсутствие механизмов организации взаимоотношений внутри кооператива. Для реализации поставленных выше задач перед АПК страны, необходимо объединить мелкие крестьянские хозяйства в крупные сельскохозяйственные кооперативы по производству, переработке, хранению, транспортировке и сбыту сельскохозяйственной продукции. Kazakhstan's agriculture aims to achieve sustainable development and agricultural production growth, increased production of export and competitive products, and ensure national food security. To implement these tasks, the State Program for Agricultural Development for 2017-2021 has been adopted, and new laws "On agricultural cooperatives", "On pastures", etc. are being introduced. Particular attention is paid to the creation of large farms based on cooperation. The analysis of the current state of agricultural development showed that small peasant farms, consisting of one family or a group of people, poorly equipped with inputs and technical means, cannot expand production and establish inter-industrial links in production and processing. These farms lack capacity to independently address the issues of increasing competitiveness of their products, introduce innovations, supply healthy food, and access high quality services. The main constraining factors in the development of cooperatives in Kazakhstan are insufficient measures of state support of agriculture, personnel provision, imperfect legislation and taxation, and the absence of organizational mechanisms of intra-cooperative linkages. In order to fulfill these tasks, it is necessary to unite small peasant farms to form large agricultural cooperatives in production, processing, storage, transportation and marketing of agricultural products.

This work is a contribution, first, toward measuring rural institu- tions taking multidimensional networks of socio-economic interactions in villages as the primitive and then toward exploring impacts of such institutions on household-access to a public employment programme: MGNREGS in India. Our focus is on the institution of clientelism- patronage-the presence and intensity of that. Using primary data we identify the presence of patron-client relationships, show that clients have better access to MGNREGS employment than non-clients and a household in elite-villages has higher access to MGNREGS employment. Complementary to our empirical exercises, we construct and analyze a theoretical model supporting our empirical findings.

The aim of this research is to provide novel evidence regarding the functioning of the Nordic model of economic development and the robustness of its institutions. At first, the paper defines a conceptual analytical framework identifying the key features of the model for the Nordic economies (Denmark, Finland, Norway, and Sweden), by synthesizing relevant background literature. Secondly, this framework is used to interpret a set of shocks, reforms and ongoing trends: the effect of resource revenues on the labor market and income inequality in Norway compared to the other Nordic countries; the design of a novel minimum income scheme in Finland and its effects on preferences for social insurance; and the implications of population ageing and increased automation for indicators of sustainability for the Nordic welfare states.

This study investigates the connection between rent-seeking behaviour, corruption activity and quality of institutions to empirically evaluate the unexpected implications of an energy policy for criminal activity. The object of this research is a program of public subsidies introduced in Italy in 2005, which successfully boosted the solar energy sector but seems to have generated a growth of corruption activity, arisen from the opportunity of rent extraction. In particular, according to the main hypothesis of this research, bribery is expected to rise significantly where big photovoltaic plants are concentrated and administrative procedures are more complicated. To determine the causal effect of the subsidies on corruption, the study employs a Difference-in-Difference methodology on a sample of 76 Italian provinces and exploits solar radiation as exogenous variable to discriminate the profitability of investments and bribing. Results confirm that, in poor-institutions areas, the growth of the solar sector in sunniest provinces has gone hand in hand with increasing corruption. Results suggest that policy makers should pay additional attention to the potential distortions of public policies implying large rent opportunities, in areas where the weakness of institutional settings and the bureaucratic complexities encourage illegal behaviour.

В период независимого развития в Узбекистане производство пшеницы достигло восьмикратного роста, в то время как ее посевные площади увеличились почти в три раза. Рост валовых показателей не привел к улучшению качества пшеницы и повышению рентабельности ее производства для фермерских хозяйств. Существующая арендная система землепользователя перегружена дополнительными обязательствами для арендаторов, что снижает их мотивацию. При этом надо иметь в виду, что официальная статистика по производству пшеницы не достоверна. Главный вопрос для сельского хозяйства Узбекистана не в том, какая форма организации сельскохозяйственного производства лучше и не в размерах земельных участков, а в механизме закупок сельскохозяйственной продукции для государственных нужд и гарантиях прав собственности для субъектов сельскохозяйственного производства. Реформы в системе обязательного государственного заказа по хлопку и пшенице могли бы повысить стимулы к эффективному землепользованию у фермеров и расширить их возможности по диверсификации производства за счет увеличения посевов альтернативных культур (плодоовощные, кормовые и пр.), и тем самым увеличить экспортный потенциал сельскохозяйственного сектора. During the period of independence following the collapse of the Soviet Union, official statistics show that wheat production in Uzbekistan increased eightfold, while the sown area almost tripled. This, however, had no positive impact on either the quality of the wheat or its profitability for the newly established farms. Currently the land tenure system overloads farmers with additional obligations and, thus, further reduces their economic incentives. The main question that needs to be asked, therefore, is how this increase in wheat production came about. Factors that could have led to this are the new organizational form of agricultural production, the change in farm size, the mechanism of state procurement of agricultural output as well as land tenure insecurity for farmers. In addition, one also needs to question the reliability of official statistics on wheat production and the accuracy of this expansion. Reforms in the system of obligatory state production targets in cotton and wheat could increase farmers' incentives for more efficient land use and expand their capacities for crop diversification towards high value crops such as fruits, vegetables and fodder. This would also have a direct effect on the export potential of the agricultural sector.

There is a growing consensus among economists and policy makers that institutions matter for economic development and that institutional reforms should be a priority for developing economies. Considering the emphasis on institutional reforms, this study asks whether a catch-up in institutional quality has occurred across countries. The study uses data on 81 countries from 1985 to 2010 and tests the catch-up hypothesis using three different measures of institutional quality that capture both political and economic dimensions of institutions. The results indicate that a catch-up in economic institutional quality has occurred and that most countries with weak economic institutions have a higher rate of change than that of countries with strong economic institutions. In contrast, for political institutions, the catch-up process lasts only a few years.

Основная цель данной статьи - представить изменения в хлопковом секторе Таджикистана и роль диверсификации в сельском хозяйстве с момента обретения независимости. В первой части данной статьи представлена информация об изменениях в госрегулировании производства хлопка с момента независимости, включая динамику закупочных цен на хлопок-сырец, а также описание особенностей процесса приватизации хлопкоочистительных заводов. Также представлена картина изменений в основных категориях сельскохозяйственных производителей и их вклад в производство сельскохозяйственной продукции, и дано описание организационных изменений, которые произошли в секторах поставки материалов и производственных ресурсов. В следующей части статьи представлены вопросы государственной политики и меры по продовольственной безопасности по основным сельхозкультурам и их влияние на структуру сельского хозяйства. В этом плане дана оценка недавних реформ в сельскохозяйственном секторе, направленных на диверсификацию производства сельскохозяйственных культур; а также отражены вопросы продовольственной безопасности и экспорта сельхозпродукции на новые рынки. The main aim of this report is to present the recent changes in the Tajik cotton sector, and the impact of agricultural diversification on food security and export promotion. The first part provides information about the changes in the state regulation of cotton production, including the dynamics of raw cotton prices, and privatization of ginneries. The second part focuses on the transformation of major categories of agricultural producers, their contribution to agricultural output, as well as related organizational changes and challenges in the input and resource supply sectors. The last section discusses the policy issues and food security concerns that have been influencing the structure of agriculture. In this respect, the report assesses the recent reforms towards diversification of crop production, reflecting on the issues of food security and agricultural exports to new markets.

When do opposition groups decide to mount a terrorism campaign and when do they enter an open civil conflict against the ruling government? This paper models an opposition group's choice between peace, terrorism, and open conflict. Terrorism emerges if executive constraints are intermediate and rents are sizeable. Open conflict is predicted to emerge under poor executive constraints. Analyzing country-level panel data firmly supports these hypotheses, even when relying on within-country variation only in a fixed-effects framework. In particular, both the incidence of terrorism and the likelihood of terrorism onset increase under intermediate executive constraints (following an inverted U-shape) and if large rents are available from natural resources, oil, or foreign development assistance. A one-standard-deviation increase in rents raises casualties by approximately 15 percentage points. Related to civil conflict, moving from an authoritarian regime to comprehensive executive constraints is associated with a decrease in the number of battle-related deaths by approximately 74 percentage points. These findings can help us to better understand and anticipate the underlying decision of opposition groups and their choice between peace, a terrorism campaign, and open conflict.

The present paper attempts to evaluate the territorial competitiveness at the level of the development region South-East, of Buzæau county respectively, starting from the premise of the identification of the strengths and weaknesses influencing the specific competitiveness of the investigated units. The paper draws on an evaluation model developed for measuring the local competitiveness in Croatia, which was adapted to Romania's specificities, with regard to the relevance, sources and availability of indicators. The adapted model was used for the evaluation of territorial competitiveness at regional and county level. The working hypothesis was represented by a lower competitiveness level in the case of the county Buzæau, compared to that of the South-East region; this situation is mainly determined by the factors relating to the development level of the non-agricultural business sector, of specialization and innovation.

Данный отчет представляет основные моменты земельной реформы и аграрной реструктуризации в Туркменистане. В первой части отчета основное внимание уделяется описанию хода аграрной реформы с представлением хронологии основных осуществленных мер аграрной политики, а также рассмотрена организация поставки материалов и ресурсов в сельскохозяйственное производство. Центральная часть отчета отведена на описание изменений в структуре посевов, а также динамики развития различных категорий сельскохозяйственных производителей и их вклад в развитие аграрного сектора и продовольственной безопасности страны. Как показывает исследование, земельная реформа и аграрная реструктуризация в стране в целом проводились со значительными функциями государства в регулировании этих процессов. На основе реформирования сельского хозяйства за период с 1992-2013 гг. общая посевная площадь в стране возросла на 25 %, в то время как, крестьянские объединения остаются основной категорией в сфере производства сельскохозяйственной продукции, базирующейся на арендной системе земледелие с целью выполнения государственного заказа стратегических культур. This report presents the main issues of land reform and agricultural restructuring in Turkmenistan. The first part of the report focuses on the progress of agrarian reform by providing a chronicle of the main agricultural policies, before presenting an overview of the organizational structure of input and resource supply in agriculture. The main body describes the changes in cropping pattern, and the development of different types of agricultural producers by highlighting their contribution to sectoral development and food security. The study shows that land reforms and agricultural restructuring in Turkmenistan were carried out under the central role of the state. As a result of the progress of agricultural reforms, the total sown area in Turkmenistan expanded by 25 %. However, peasant associations based on the land lease system, remain the main farm category in agricultural production and are assigned the primary task of fulfilling the state order in strategic crops.

Edmund Phelps, the 2006 Nobel Laureate in Economics, has written a thought-provoking and ambitious book: Mass Flourishing: How Grassroots Innovation Created Jobs, Challenge, and Change (Princeton University Press, 2013). The book is laudable for its emphasis on innovation, for its discussion of what constitutes a good life, and Phelps' realization that true life satisfaction cannot be achieved through a mindless quest for money and the goods it can buy. But the overly glossy characterization of the period before WW II as opposed to the post-1980 period, the niggardly evaluation of the European economies, and the lack of empirical indicators actually showing that the rate of innovation has dropped are significant weaknesses. These objections are especially regrettable given the importance of the book's main message: Creative entrepreneurship is not merely the key to economic growth, but to life satisfaction as well.

This paper investigates chaos in a Nigerian mutual fund, Asset and Resource Management Company Limited (ARM) for a period of eleven years. The existence of chaotic signals in the data was identified by the reconstruction of the phase space of the daily closing price of the fund and the delay time was quantified using mutual information function and the embedding dimension by the false nearest neighbours, where the values were identified to be 15 and 20 respectively. The presence of chaotic signals in the ARM data was further confirmed by the correlation dimension method which yielded a dimension of 2.2 and by the Lyapunov exponent, in which the largest Lyapunov exponent is 0.0528. The predictability of the fund was evaluated from the inverse of the largest Lyapunov exponent as 19 days.

We analyze the long-term effects of firm break-up and ownership change on corporate performance. Our analysis is based on a unique data set for a large number of Czech firms spanning the period 1996-2005. We employ a propensity score matching procedure to deal with endogeneity problems. Our results, which are generally in line with the positive effects of firm break-up found in the developed-market literature, show that the initial effects of firm break-up are positive but after a certain point they quickly diminish over time. Factors like changes in ownership structure and management are to be found behind later improvements in the performance of firms.

We analyze the long-term effects of divesture and ownership change on corporate performance. We employ a unique data set for a large number of Czech firms spanning the period 1996-2005. We employ a propensity score matching procedure to deal with endogeneity problems. Our results, which are generally in line with the positive effects of divestiture found in the developed-market literature, show that the initial effects of divestiture are positive but after a certain point they quickly diminish over time.

Current empirical growth models limit the determinants of country growth to geographic, economic, and institutional variables. This study draws on conflict variables from the Correlates of War (COW) project to ask a critical question: How do different types of conflict affect country growth rates? It finds that wars slow the economy. Estimates indicate that civil war reduces annual growth by .01 to .13 percentage points, and high-intensity interstate conflict reduces annual growth by .18 to 2.77 percentage points. On the other hand, low-intensity conflict slows growth much less than high-intensity conflict, and may slightly increase it. The detrimental effect of conflict on growth is intensified when examining non-democracies, low income countries, and countries in Africa.

Trade between Eastern and Western Europe has increased considerably in the last years. Given this market-induced development, why should it be necessary to advance institutional integration? This paper argues that Central and Eastern European countries (CEECs) can potentially enhance the credibility of their governments' policies through institutional integration with the EU. The paper discusses the credibility problems faced by the CEECs and shows how EU membership will enhance the institutional setting and the governments' credibility. Based on regression results between an indicator of institutional change and key macroeconomic variables, an estimate of the potential impact of the CEECs' accession to the EU institutional framework on growth in the CEECs is derived.

This paper proposes a simple framework to better understand an opposition group’s choice between peace, terrorism, and open civil conflict against the government. Our model implies that terrorism emerges if constraints on the ruling executive group are intermediate and rents are sizeable, whereas conflict looms under poor executive constraints. Analyzing annual data for up to 158 countries in a panel setting provides evidence consistent with these hypotheses. The results emerge both when considering the incidence and onset of terrorism and conflict. The corresponding magnitudes are economically sizeable. Overall, these findings can help us understand and anticipate the choices of opposition groups.

The paper highlights the part of the results of a questionnaire-based research, carried out at the level of associations of liberal professions members of the Liberal Professions Union of Romania (LPUR). It was rated the implementation of the principles of Total Quality Management (TQM) among the 14 member associations of professions and were identified LPUR most important success factors of TQM that can help increase the social responsibility to the public interest associations of members of liberal professions. The research was conducted from April 18 to May 31, 2017 at the headquarters of the professional associations shall LPUR at a representative sample of 100 employees from 130 thereof. They identified 58 strengths confirming a high level of implementation of TQM principles and 28 issues that require improvement. It was identified good results about 'activities and general working conditions' and 'Quality Control'. At the same time were discovered gaps on the 'flexibility of the organization' and in 'Identifying and capitalizing expectations in meetings with members'. On the one hand, based on the results analysed, it was determined that 'Exigency examinations access to employment ' and 'Using professional standards' are the factors with the greatest impact on increasing social responsibility and the public interest and, on the other hand 'the openness of associations - free competition' has the lowest impact.