Category Archives: Uncategorized

Misconduct in Credence Good Markets

Posted on January 10, 2013 by Ken

Some students in my EC470 class may be interested in this paper. Abstract We study how monitoring, expert skill and consumer awareness affect the level of misconduct in markets with asymmetric information and price-taking experts. Theoretical predictions show that experts … Continue reading →

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Ecology, Trade and States

Posted on December 23, 2012 by Ken

A new paper by James Fenske at Oxford on the origins of institutional structures. Abstract State capacity matters for growth. I test Bates’ explanation of pre-colonial African states. He argues that trade across ecological boundaries promoted states. I find that … Continue reading →

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Aid Effectiveness – A New Scorecard

Posted on November 22, 2011 by Ken

The Centre for Global Development has published a new collection of measures related to aid effectiveness, along with a web-based tool for looking at different dimensions of aid. Remarkably, Canada is almost exactly average, not just in total, but also … Continue reading →

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Measuring Development

Posted on November 30, 2010 by Ken

A new paper by Martin Ravallion from the World Bank. The basic idea – the UN HDI formulation has changed but remains arbitrary. SSRN link

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Economic White Papers – The Grand Challenges

Posted on November 23, 2010 by Ken

A variety of leading economists present their opinions on the key issues for research in the social sciences. Link The importance of institutions, both formal and informal, and their interaction, are highlighted in the essays by Acemoglu, Alesina, and Samuelson, … Continue reading →

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