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This article assesses the productivity effects of infrastructure operation and maintenance (O&M) spending by state and local governments in the 48 contiguous U.S. states over the period 1978-2000. We explicitly account for transboundary spillovers of capital and O&M spending and follow a semiparametric methodology that allows us to estimate state-specific output elasticities. We find strong evidence that in all 48 states the cross-state spillover effects of O&M outlays on productivity exceed their within-state impacts and are substantially higher than the spillover effects of capital expenditure. ( JEL C14, E22, E62, H76, O11, O47, R11) [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Abstract: Foreign aid flows have increased considerably during the last decades, targeting, apart from development objectives, goals related to democracy. In this paper we investigate whether aid has affected the political regime of recipient countries. To this end, we use annual data on Net Official Development Assistance covering 64 aid-recipients. Because of data limitations, we cover the 1967–2002 period. We find that aid flows decreased the likelihood of observing a democratic regime in a recipient country. This effect is sensitive to economic and social conditions. The negative relation between aid and democracy is moderated when aid flows are preceded by economic liberalization. Aid from the U.S. has a non-significant effect on the political regime of recipients. [Copyright &y& Elsevier]

The article revisits the relationship between growth and public productive expenditures by investigating the growth impact of "new" public investment along with maintenance expenditures in public capital. We sketch out the importance of these components of public capital expenditures for growth and then use survey data from Canada to assess the impact of these variables on Canadian growth. We find evidence that the Canadian economy would benefit from a fall in total public capital expenditures and from a reallocation between new public investment and maintenance expenditures. We also identify the growth impact of the associated sectoral public capital expenditures. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Increasing capitalization in developed economies has attracted the attention of policymakers and economists with respect to the effects of unanticipated changes in stock returns on growth. This paper attempts to examine empirically the response of output growth to shocks in real stock returns. Evidence from OECD countries by use of Vector Autoregressions shows that output growth does not respond significantly to shocks in domestic real stock returns. The picture, however, changes when a shock in foreign (United States) real stock returns is considered. A portion of excess output volatility in these countries can be explained by innovations in foreign real returns, which indicates that in the global economic environment growth is more exposed to financial instability originating from abroad. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Argues the testing of international parity conditions using an econometric approach. Emphasis of the study on the German mark and the Japanese Yen; Application of the multivariate cointegration system; Concerns on the lack of empirical success of exchange rate models.

Assesses the effects that the second Community Support Framework is likely to have on the economy of Greece in the short and medium run by employing projections of a four-sector annual macroeconomic model. Assumptions of the model; Effect of absence or presence of externalities on output; Implications for allocation, implementation, and monitoring of the Plan.

Discusses the aims of the European Union (EU)'s structural funds in the Greek economy. Efforts at enhancing real economic convergence with other EU countries; Need for increasing physical and human capital; Link between the magnitude of the funds' effects and the size of supply-side externalities.