Experts   By Issue   By Name   By Region   Activities   Measurement & Assessment   Reform Implementation   Research   Strategy & Project Design   Training & Capacity Building   Topics   Economic & Institutional Analysis   Enterprise Development   Governance & Civil Society   Legal & Regulatory Reform   Projects   Africa   Asia   Europe and Eurasia   Latin America and Caribbean   Middle East   Global   Opportunities   Contract Vehicles   Donors & Reformers   Employment   Resume Upload   Small Businesses   Students   Visiting Scholars Program   About IRIS   Director’s Welcome   Contact & Directions   Glossary   History   Staff, College Park   Staff, Field   Calendar of Events   Publications   Search   Intranet	Home > Publications   “Trade” Among Agents and the Linearity of Incentives Presenting an explanation for why incentive schemes are predominantly linear, and do not have the complicated shapes predicted by Principal-Agent theory. A Constitution for the Russian Federation The draft constitution prepared for the Russian Federation can, in many respects, be regarded as a generic presidential constitution for a federation, it summarizes much of what we have learned about due process, the rule of law, the relationship between legislative and executive powers, and stable federalisms A Corruption Primer: An Overview of Concepts in the Corruption Literature A brief, critical overview of some of the key ideas and debates regarding corruption, drawn from the several literatures of political science, political economy, and economics. A Critical Perspective on the Yeltsin Economic Reform Program A number of reform alternatives have been worked out by Russian economists, some of which take into account unique features of the Russian political and economic landscape more comprehensively than the program initiated under Gaidar’s direction. The re-entry of Gaidar into the Yeltsin government, while probably a positive sign to some democrats in Russia and many Western leaders, suggests that many mistakes of the past two years may be repeated. A New Institutional Approach to Economic Development New Institutional Economics analyzes issues in economic development using a multi-disciplinary approach. This book explores examples from developing and developed countries to examine the interaction between political, economic, legal, and social forces, with a particular focus on India. A Note on Recent Policies for Higher Education in Chile Educational expansion at the primary and secondary levels tends to have an equalizing effect on the distribution of earnings for a given wage structure. However, the resulting change in relative supplies of labor generates an offsetting increase in the wages of more educated workers relative to less educated workers. A Not-so-Dismal Science: A Broader View of Economies and Societies This classic book shows how other social science disciplines make use of economic methods and theories and in turn influence economic thinking. Many of the greatest ideas of modern economics have arisen outside of the traditional boundaries of the discipline. A Simple Analytic of a Selfish Hegemon This paper deals with the concept of hegemonic stability and Kindleberger's attributes leading to the main cause of the great depression after World War II. A Simple Test of the Nutrition-Based Efficiency Wage Model In the nutrition-based efficiency wage model, wages in labor markets in developing countries are rigid because lowering them would reduce worker productivitty and increase the cost per efficiency unit . This paper evaluates this claim, using data from rural India. It is found that,contrary to what has been assumed in these models a wage cut should lower the cost per efficiency unit of labor. A Solution to the Problem of Externalities When Agents are Well-Informed Consider an economic environment in which agents take actions that impose benefits or costs on other agents. The agents involved know the relevant technology and the tastes of all other agents. However the “ regulator,” or has the responsibility for determining the final allocation, does not have this information. How can the regulator design a mechanism that will implement an efficient allocation? A System and Implementation Schedule for Simplifying Business Registrations in Chad This report describes work carried out under the contract to provide technical assistance toward simplifying GOC business registration proceduresand and follow-up recommendations to USAID/Chad. A Tale of Two Sectors: The Formal and Informal Sectors in India This paper presents an aggregative analysis of the informal sector in India. The hitherto ignored informal sector in developing societies is increasingly acquiring a central role in new thinking about development strategies. A Taxonomy of Post-Socialist Financial Systems: Decentralized Enforcement and the Creation of Inside Money This paper offers a classification of credit markets in transition economies. It describes a continuum of systems by identifying its polar cases: countries where the entire financial system still relies on outside money, mostly republics of the former Soviet Union; and those where a more decentralized intermediation system is developing (Central/Eastern Europe). A Theory of Ambiguous Property Rights in Transitional Economies A widely held belief in economics is that institutions of clearly defined property rights are the pre-conditions for economic prosperity. Based on this conventional wisdom, rapid privatization has been accepted as the main strategy of the post-socialist transition. The rest of the question is who should be the owner or who should enjoy property rights. A Theory of Imperfect Competition in Rural Credit Markets in Developing Countries: Towards a Theory of Segmented Credit Mark We set out a stylized representation of a rural credit market in a developing country in which the enforcement and screening technology is very limited: Banks can lend only to large farmers on the basis of land collateral, and small farmers can borrow only from moneylender-traders who market their output. We show that an expansion of bank credit has an ambiguous effect on the interest rate that moneylenders charge. The model thus provides a framework that can explain the failure of the expansion of rural ba A Theory of Misgovernance This paper studies the determinants of government performance. The paper identifies two specific reasons for apparently poor government performance. Access to Capital, Agrarian Classes, and Resources Allocation: The Punjab In recent work Eswaran and Kotwal (1986) have shown how, in agrarian economies, patterns of organization and resource-use can be explained in terms of differences in access to capital and supervision costs. This paper generalizes the model to incorporate family size and applies it in the context of colonial Punjab, using data on 144 households over the years 1933-36. After Maastricht: Public Investment, Economic Integration, and International Capital Mobility Economists have traditionally analyzed European integration by studying the successive relaxation of impediments to the free exchange of goods and factors among the member nations of the community. Agrarian Institutions and Agricultural Productivity: Africa in the European Mirror Attempts to reform agriculture n underdeveloped countries have been informed by the idea that exclusive private property rights were a prerequisite to an efficient agricultural sector. Thus the 1989 World Bank Report Sub Saharan Agriculture. From Crisis to Sustainable Growth, stressed the need for changes in land law from communal property rights towards individualized rights. Yet there has been dispute about whether costly state intervention is required in these matters, or whether land rights will endogen Agricultural Extensions in Mali: Trust and Social Cohesion Social capital may be seen as interpersonal trust expressed through the relationships that exist among a society’s members, its institutions and organizations. The manner in which people relate to each other in and through the institutions that affect their lives helps determine the quality of those lives and the degree to which they will improve them. Given the fundamental quality of trust as it affects an institution's ability to help people realize their aspirations, development becomes more effective wh Aid Dependence and Quality of Governance: An Empirical Analysis By analyzing cross-country data, this paper provides evidence that higher aid levels erode the quality of governance, as measured by indexes of bureaucratic quality, corruption, and the rule of law. Airline Competition Policy in Nepal Recommandations from Steven Morrison to the Department of Civil Aviation in the Ministry of Tourism on airline pricing policy for the new private airlines. An Approach to Institutional Reform in Higher Education Changes in the South African environment present severe challenges to the country’s universities,challenges that, in less strenuous forms, have devastated universities in many other countries. An Evolutionary Perspective in Economies and in the Economic Reform of Centrally Planned Economies This chapter presents the lessons of the metaphor, “the evolutionary approach to economic reform.” An Open or Closed Technology Policy? The Effects of Technology Licenses, Foreign Direct Investment, and Domestic and Interna One of the chief objectives of the Indian government since independence has been to achieve technological self-reliance in the industrial sector, where “self-reliance” refers to the ability of Indian firms to invent and implement new technologies on their own without having to purchase such technologies from foreigners. To varying degrees over the past three decades, India has pursued this objective through the adoption of a “closed” technology policy designed to shield Indian firms from foreign influences Analysis of Competition in Mongolia: Three Case Studies The IRIS-Mongolia Project and the Privatization Commission of the Government of Mongolia recently engaged in a cooperative effort to draft legislation to regulate industry conduct competition in Mongolia's industrial sector. Anti-Corruption Agencies: A Review of Experience How can we best control corruption? Recently, policymakers have chosen to establish anti-corruption agencies. But how much authority should these agencies have? What should their jurisdiction be? And what should we expect of them? This paper examines anti-corruption agencies, using a range of case studies. Anti-Trust and the Evolution of a Market Economy in Mongolia This paper features two essential tasks in the transition: development of a democratic, transparent process for establishing the market rules of the game, and making the shift from socialistic givernment as economic planner/manager to government as rule arbiter and protector of market processes. The project aslo serves as a good illustration of a model for assisting developing countries with institutional reform. Assessing the Value of Law in Transition Economies A compilation of essays that examine the role of legal and institutional measures in economic reform programs. Compiled from an IRIS research conference held in March 1999. Autocracy, Democracy, and History with Appendix: An Abstract Model of Autocratic Versus Democratic Government Outlining historical differences between autocracies and democracies, this essay suggests that autocracies are not always the norm at all stages of historical development. Bank Loan Application Procedures This paper wil help you think and plan the future of your enterprise through the construction of a sound, basic business, marketing and financial plan. It is also a most important document, together with a net worth/financial statement, required by a bank in support of your loan application. Bank Restructuring in Nepal: Analysis of the Causes of Apparent Financial Difficulties of the Rastriya Banijya Bank The financial sector in Nepal is in the process of development. The stock market has been recently activated and the Securities Board is a young regulatory authority. The banking sector has been growing. In 1984 and 1985 three joint ventures with foreign banks began operating as banks licensed bv the Nepal’s Rastra Bank. In 1989 all of the commercial banks have been freed to fix their ok rates on loans and deposits. Big Bang vs. Gradualism: Why Were Economist too Optimistic about the Transformation in Eastern Europe and USSR and Why Is th Most Western economists (the present writer inciuded) were too optimistic about the big-bang transformation in Eastern Europe and the former Soviet Union around the time of its commencement around 1989-l 992. Most expected only moderate falls of output and relatively quick and strong recovery and growth. The actual fails have been much iarger and with the exception of Poland, the recovery has yet to take place. Big Bills Left on the Sidewalk: Why Some Nations Are Rich and Others are Poor An assistant professor is walking along with a full professor when he sees a $100 bill lying on the sidewalk. As he bends to pick it up, his senior colleague restrains him, pointing out that if the bill were real it would have already been picked up. This article discusses theories about the efficiency of markets, and how the differences between poor and rich countries test those theories. Biosphere, Markets, and Governments This paper deals with two cases adopting different routes, the Montreal and Kyoto protocols. The former embodies the classic regulatory approach, dictating what can and cannot be done. The latter is centered much more about economics incentives generated by a market. It seeks to internalize externalities by creating and distributing property rights where none previously existed and then allowing these to be traded. the market here is central and is government created. The same is true of the markets in the Bolivian Customs Reform: A Case Study of Consolidating Democratic Institutions This study reviews the early stages of reform of corrupt Bolivian customs stressing the background of customs corruption in politics and economy, and the story of the reform process. Book Review: Local Suppliers of Credit in Third World, 1750-1960 The consensus within development economics on the importance of studying informal financial institutions is shifting. One view has been that such institutions are efficient and that therefore if we want to study how societies (without government intervention) allocate resources, we need only study efficient resource allocations. An alternative view that has recently attracted significant scholarly attention is that institutions, including informal financial institutions, that provide incentives to savers, p Brazilian Tax Collection reform and Its Effects This study uses data from the Brazilian tax collection authority Secretaria da Receita Federal) to examine the effects and effectiveness of a major reform instituted in 1989 to provide incentives for improvement in the enforcement of tax laws by inspectors. The reform provides monetary compensation to the collectors based on their individual and group performance in finding and collecting taxes from tax evaders. The size of the rewards is quite significant: incentive bonuses frequently constitute more than Breaking the Policy Gridlock on Grazing and Other Uses of Public Lands The purpose of this project was to relate one dimension of environmental variability, namely, the local variability of rainfall, to economic behavior and institutional choice. It did so in two quite different contexts, the American West and one country of tropical Africa (Sudan). Bureaucracy and Economic Development This paper discusses the role of organizational performance in economic development.Public agencies that produce outputs that cannot be readily measured vary greatly in theirefficiency. Some countries have overcome the difficulties associated with poorly measured outputs-of public agencies and have established highly efficient civil se&es, f&owing strategies that are discussed in the paper. These efficient bureaucracies have contributed substantially to economic development, as illustrated in this paper by Bureaucracy, Infrastructure and Economic Growth: Evidence from U.S. Cities during the Progressive Era Recent work in the sociology of economic development has emphasized the establishment of a professional government bureaucracy in place of political appointees as an important component of the institutional environment in which private enterprise can flourish. Bureaucratic Structures and Economic Performance in Less Developed Countries Recent work in the sociology of economic development has emphasized the establishment of a professional government bureaucracy in place of political appointees as an important component of the institutional environment in which private enterprise can flourish. Can Technological Progress Lower Incomes? New Results on Lemons Models In many credit markets, borrowers have better information than lenders do about the risks that they face. If lenders cannot perfectly distinguish the riskiness of different borrowers at the moment of contracting, heterogeneous borrowers will be charged the same rate of interest. The implicit subsidy from the lowest risk borrowers to the highest risk borrowers may cause negative value projects to be financed in equillibrium. Capital Immobilities and Industrial Development: A Comparative Study of Brazil, Mexico, and the United States This paper builds upon my earlier papers on capital markets and industrial development. It argues that there is a strong relationship between the efficiency with which a country mobilized capital for industrial development and the industrial structure that country developed. Differences in capital market development were a function of government regulatory policies and the costs of obtaining information. The analysis suggests that the development of financial institutions is not endogenous to the process of Capital Market Development in Nepal Financial markets are a catalyst in the development of the country’s economy. Capital Markets and Industrial Development: A Comparative Study of Brazil, India, Mexico, and the United States, 1840-1930 This paper seeks to understand the conditions under which imperfections in capital markets may persist for long periods of time and the long-run efficiency consequences of those imperfections. Center-State Relations in India and Brazil: Privatization of Electricity and Banking This paper uses four focused case studies to explore the following question: “When and why do state governments oppose (or support} privatization programs initiated by the central government?” Chad Financial Sector and Private Sector One of the key constraints to improving economic performance in emerging countries is the absence of strong and dynamic financial systems. Healthy capital and credit markets serve the vital roles of mobilizing savings, intermediating funds, and allocating credit to productive uses. Changing Hands: A Case Study of Financial Sector Governance in Hungary’s Market Transition Post-socialist transition environments present severe and intractable problems. In Hungary, reformers faced a stew of hazy corporate networks, official cronyism, and corruption. This case study details how Hungary faced these problems, as well as a series of painful changes, and created one of the strongest financial systems in the region. Checks and Balances, Rent-Seeking and Economic Development The credibility of agreements between the state and entrepreneurs regarding rents and security from expropriation affects the extent of damage caused by rent-seeking. Choosing a Dictator: Bureaucratic Structures and Welfare in Less Developed Polities Recent work in the sociology of economic development has emphasized the establishment of a professional government bureaucracy in place of political appointees as an important component of the institutional environment in which private enterprise can flourish Citizens, Autocrats, and Plotters: An Agency Theory of Coups D’Etat Authors present an agency theory of coup attempts in autocracies. Autocrat’s, modeled as self-interested with aims to benefit from power while staying in office, interests conflict with those of his principal, the citizenry, who wants the state to be efficiently run. Civil and Political Liberties over Space and Time: A Markov Model of Transition Dynamics In this paper, we investigate the evolution of liberties for every country and protectorate in the worlk, 1972-1992. We pay separate attention to political vs. civil liberties, and we also weight the liberties data by population. Coalition Governments and Fiscal Policies in India This paper focuses on government instability, which can be a cause of economic distortions. Coalition Structures, Duverger's Law, and the Split-Merger Stability Hypothesis This papaer focusses on developing a nonspatial, game-theoretic framework capable of capturing the complexity of electoral coalition formation process. Coase, Competition, and Compensation This paper shows that the Pigdvian solution to a simple externalities problem and a particular Coasian solution can be viewed as competitive equilibria from different initial endowments Collusive Trade Arrears in the Stabilization of Transition Economies This paper shows that in a transition economy with a rigid production structure and a core of unredeemable enterprises, a tight credit policy may subtract more liquidity than the corporate sector can generate by internal restructuring. Combating Corruption in Africa: Institutional Challenges and Responses Breaking down the large and varied phenomenon of corruption, into components more easily subject to legal and policy analysis. Combating Rural Public Works Corruption: Food-for-Work Programs in Nepal Documents an innovation in the governance of local public works programs in Nepal. Analyzes the mechanisms of corruption in these programs, and examines the role of enabling local "ownership," monitoring, and management in reducing corruption and improving productivity. Commercial Legal Institutions in the West Bank and Gaza An assessment of the commercial legal and regulatory environment in the West Bank and Gaza. Provides recommendations for reform. Communism, Constitutionalism and the Transition to Market-Based Democracy The introduction of a modern constitutional regime in the post-communist countries would assist in overcoming the economic crisis and in preventing political crisis. Comparison of Two-Party and Multiparty Representative Governments Although modes of representation come in a variety of institutional forms, they can be usefully divided into two categories: (1) those that seek to have each voter represented by a person or party coming fairly close to a voter’s position on the issues, and (2) those that seek to limit a voter’s choice to two candidates or parties which encompass a broad cross-section of interests and ideologies. Conditions for Effective Decentralized Governance: A Synthesis of Research Findings Providing an overview of theories and outcomes regarding decentralization, with a focus on conditions in Uganda and the Philippines. Conference of Cultural Assessment The linkage between local cultural factors and the success of development projects was the focus of a December 1992 IRIS workshop supported by the World Bank and Rockefeller Foundation Confronting the Institutional Obstacles to Trade Liberalization and its Benefits to SMEs By proposing options for institutional reform and the associated initial conditions, likely to be requirements for effectiveness, this paper illustrates how to apply the HPI framework to a USAID programmatic area. Consequences of Limited Risk Markets and Imperfect Information for the Design of Taxes and Transfers: Overview The central thesis for this publication is that sound policies for the rural sector of developing countries must be based on an understanding of the structure of a rural organization and that rural organization can in turn be interpreted as partly the consequence of limitations on information and the absence of a complete set of risk markets. Consistency of Choice and Non-constant Discounting Showing that uncertainty over hazard rates may lead to non constant discounting but not imply dynamically inconsistent behavior. Constitutional Reform and Social Difference in New Zealand The new electoral system adopted by New Zealand in 1993 includes a little-known arrangement designed to assure fair and effective representation of the indigenous Maori minority in Parliament. Constitutional Reform: What Direction Now? Russia enjoys the apparent luxury of two official draft constitutions, one by the Constitutional Commission, another by President Yeltsin’s staff. Which is better? That is like asking which of two piles of building stones is better. Constitutions for New Democracies: Reflections of Turmoil or Agents of Stability? Despite the widely held view in newly emerging democracies that constitutions are mere words on paper or that parchment barriers cannot render a state stable or democratic, those who draft such documents commonly act as if words ARE of consequence. Constraints to SME Development in Bangladesh The development of small and medium enterprises (SMEs) in developing countries is generally believed to be a desirable end in view of their perceived contribution to decentralized job creation and generation of output. Contraception and the Income-Fertility Relationship The puzzling result that income growth is generally associated with decreasing fertility has generated a large literature. Economists have been reluctant to classify children as an inferior good and so have offered alternative explanations for the negative impact of income on birth rates. Contracting Practices in an African Economy: Industrial Firms and Suppliers in Tanzania Shedding light on the role of legal institutions in economic development through an examination of contract enforcement practices by industrial firms and their suppliers in Tanzania. Contract-Intensive Money: Contract Enforcement, Property Rights and Economic Performance Markets are commonplace in all types of societies, including the poorest. The less-developed countries today have a profusion of bazaars, shops, and people who bargain with skill. Contracts in Bulgaria: How Firms Cope When Property Rights are Incomplete How are contracts among firms enforced in an economy in transition? Such economies are largely without a recent history of private property rights or of government enforcement of commercial contracts. Credibility, Rent-Seeking and Political Instability Describing conditions under which state institutions reduce political instability. Examining institutions that restrict the ability of any single state decision maker to act unilaterally. Credit Information in the Bangladesh Financial System This report covers the condition of the credit information industry in Bangladesh and proposes a direction for future growth. Credit Rating Services in Nepal: An Assessment Report Nepal is an economy in transition. Since the conversion to a constitutional democracy in 1991, economic reform and liberalization efforts have been undertaken in many sectors, particularly with respect to trade and industrial policies. Critical Issues in Nepal's Micro-Finance Circumstances This study examines the effectiveness and outreach of microfinance organizations in Nepal, leading to the identification of critical issues currently faced by these organizations. Cuba’s Reforms: A New Institutional Economics Perspective Assessing the nature of developing market reforms in Cuba by looking at implications in terms of three related ideas about the operation of market economies. Cultural Evolution and Constitutional Public Choice: Institutional Diversity and Economic Performance on American Indian Res This paper argues that the foundations of effective collective institutions rest on the processes of normative and positive acculturation of individuals, and we refer to socially shared normative and positive conceptions (or “norms”) of proper and feasible behavior in the realm of human action as “culture.” Current Status of the Legal System and the Rule of Law in Chad and its Effect on the Private Sector Le Tchad est parmi les pays les plus pauvres du monde. II a recemment fait face a une crise economique de grande envergure aggravee par des conditions climatiques et d’autres evenements catastophiques survenues au cows des deux dernieres decennies. Decentralization and the Potential for Effective Municipal Governance in Senegal Across Africa, and indeed throughout the developing world, the devolution of authority to local government has failed to achieve the efficiency, and democracy-enhancing goals championed by international agencies in their support of decentralization. Decentralization, Governance, and Public Services: The Impact of Institutional Arrangements A discussion of the factors that are likely to lead to better governance at the local level. Decentralized Public Finance and Effective Governance in West Africa An analysis of public finance and governance issues in West Africa that places research findings within a broader comparative context, while reviewing the literature on decentralized public finance in developing nations. The paper provides a series of parameters for assessing fiscal decentralization and its accompanying system of accountability. Deforestation in Colonial Kumaon: 1815-1947 The forests of the Kumaon Himalayas offer a good case-study of the kind of institutional breakdown which ultimately leads to deforestation. Designing Land Policies: An Overview Little economic activity would occur in the absence of rights, or powers, to consume, obtain income from, and transfer assets. The level of economic development of a region will therefore depend on its system of property rights. Determinants of Lasting Democracy in Poor Countries One of the most widely recognized and empirically documented findings in social science is the association between a country's level of economic development and the democratic character of its political institutions. Dictatorship, Democracy, and Development Under anarchy, uncoordinated competitive theft by "roving bandits" destroys the incentive to invest and produce, leaving little for either the population or the bandits. Dispute Resolution as an Alternative to the Ordinary Courts in Madagascar: A Guide to Choice in the International Arena This study will make recommendations to Madagascar's judicial system. Where appropriate, for the bolstering of the judicial system and will focus on identifying those effective alternatives which arc currently available to investors in that country. Do Better Polities Have Higher Economic Growth? Many people hold strong opinions about the economic implications of various forms of governance. Yet these views are seldom buttressed with systematic evidence. A recent book by Gerald Scully argues, after ingenious manipulation of cross-country data, that what might be called "better polities" have higher economic growth rates. Do Competition and Ownership Affect Enterprise Efficiency in the Absence of Market Institution? Evidence After Privatization Mongolia's mass privatization program was implanted in a country that lacked the very basic institutions of capitalism. Does Corruption Affect Health and Education Outcomes in the Philippines? Showing that corruption is associated with lower quality of health and education delivery in the Phillipines by examining the effect of corruption in municipal governments on health and education outcomes. Does Corruption Affect Health and Education Outcomes in The Philippines? An examination of the effect of corruption in municipal governments on health and education outcomes in the Philippines, proving that corruption has a negative effect on education outcomes. Does Corruption Hinder Trade Reform? Providing evidence that countries with higher levels of corruption are less likely to reduce tariffs. Does Development Assistance Help Build Social Capital? There is by now a large literature on the importance of social capital in explaining social, political and economic outcomes. Does Foreign Aid Promote Democracy? An analysis of the impact of aid on democratization in a large sample of recipient nations over the 1975-96 period. Uses several alternative democracy indexes and measures of aid intensity to locate evidence that aid promotes democracy. Does Social Capital Facilitate the Poor's Access to Credit? A Review of the Microeconomic Literature This literature review examines the empirical evidence on the relationship between social capital and the performance of credit delivery programs in the developing world. Does Social Capital Have an Economic Payoff? A Cross-Country Investigation Presenting evidence that “social capital” matters for measurable economic performance, using indicators of trust and civic norms from the World Values Surveys for a sample of 29 market economies. Does Social Capital Matter in Rural Water Delivery? A Review of Literature The objective of this paper is to explore the role of social capital in community-based rural water and urban sanitation delivery. Does Social Capital Matter in Water and Sanitation Delivery? A Review of Literature Analyzing the role of social capital in community-based irrigation, rural drinking water, and urban sanitation delivery by reviewing the relevant literature. Dreams of Red Mansions: Causes and Consequences of Chinese Military Corruption One of the oft-noted side-effects of China’s economic reforms since 1978 has been the widespread proliferation of corruption. E-Commerce in Bangladesh: Status, Potential and Constraints This paper highlights the status, statues, potential and contraints to e-commerce development in Bangladesh. Economic and Political Determinants of Agricultural and Food Prices: A Cross-National Study The Food and Agricultural Organization has recently collected a large body of data containing agricultural prices for many countries. Economic and Political Determinants of Agricultural and Food Prices: A Cross-National Study The prices that farmers receive for their agricultural products and those paid by consumers for their food vary across countries as a result of both economic and political forces. Economic and Political Determinants of Inflation Rates: An Empirical Investigation Using a Panel Data Set The objective of this paper is to empirically investigate the impact of economic and political variables, that have been suggested as important in the theoretical literature, in determing inflation. Economic Logic, International Security, and the Equilibrium Among Nations Since the first cracks in the Iron Curtain during the momentous autumn of 1989, to the accomplished reunification of Germany, to the present ruptures in the bonds of the Soviet Union itself, it has become more and more apparent that a Continent wide upheaval in the very configuration of nation states is in progress. Economic Policymaking: The Nepal Experience This paper uses our experiences in the Economic Liberalization Project of USAID to point out factors that, have been important to the policy reform process in Nepal during the last four years. Economic Policymaking: The Nepal Experience This paper uses our experiences in the Economic Liberalization project of USAID to point out factors that have been important to the policy reform process in Nepal during the last four years. Economic Reform and Smallholder Agriculture in Tanzania: A Discussion of Recent Market Liberalization, Road Rehabilitation, This paper discusses the reforms affecting Tanzania’s small-farm sector during 1984-93. Economic Reform in Nepal: A Cursory Assessment The paper proposes that the Government give immediate attention to fiscal austerity as well as to monitoring and supervision of the financial market. Economic Reforms and Agricultural Parastatals: The Cotton Corporation of India and Maharashtra Federation This paper examines the performance of several parastatals in India. Efficiency and Equity in Public Investment in Education in India This paper discusses the efficiency and equity of public investment in education in India. Electoral Strategy Under Open-List Proportional Representation Imagine an electoral system whose chief attributes include open-list proportional representation, large multimember districts, candidate selection at the level of politically significant subnational units, and the possibility of immediate reelection. Electoral Systems and Fragmentation: The Indian Experience The main purpose of this paper is to compare the actual fractionalization in state legislatures with the extent of fractionalization which would have occurred in legislatures elected under PR systems. Employer Size, Wages and the Nature of Employment in Peru The paper first describes wage, benefits and job tenure distributions across establishment size categories among urban Peruvian male private sector wage earners over 14 years of age. End of the Tunnel? The Effects of Financial Stabilization in Russia During 1996 Russia passed two milestones. Successful completion of the Presidential election marked a further episode in the country's democratic development. Enterprise Restructuring in Transition: A Quantitative Survey Providing new insights into the relative effectiveness of different reform policies, and how this effectiveness varies across regions. Enterprise-State Relations After Mass Privatization: Their Character in Mongolia A changing relationship between state and enterprise is one central element in the economic reforms of post-socialist countries. Environment for Investment in Madagascar: Institutional Reform for a Market Economy To examine the environment for investment in Madagascar, and determine which institutional reform efforts would most encourage the growth of a market economy. Ethnic Heterogeneity, District Magnitude, and the Number of Parties Recent events leading to the importation of democratic ideas and ideals by previously totalitarian states increase our interest in the ways in which electoral institutions influence party systems. Ethnicity, Capital Formation, and Conflict Ethnicity plays an ambiguous role in the great transformation. On the one hand, ethnicity creates: by providing incentives that organize the flow of resources across generations, it provides the capital for urban migration and the acquisition of skills for industrial employment. Evolutionary and Radical Approaches to Economic Reform Discussing the breakdown in the consensus that the optimal approach to socialist economic reform involved immediate destruction of old institutions and rapid conversion to capitalist arrangements. Exogenous and Opportunistic Financial Arrears: Evidence from a Survey of Bulgarian State Managers Following tight stabilization policies, in many transition economies enterprises have responded to reduced credit flows with a rapid development of interfirm trade credit. Exploring the Concept of Social Capital and its Relevance for Community-based Development: The Case of Coal Mining Areas in The paper explores the concept of social capital through two coal mining areas in the state of Orissa, India. Failures in Governance: Restrictions on the Dominion of Markets Two singularly lucid articles written 40 years ago summarized the then accumulated wisdom of welfare economics as to when and whether a government should intervene in the allocative workings of the private economy. Family Safety Nets Economic Transition: A Case Study of Poland Can those Eastern European families who are most severely impoverished during the transition from socialism to capitalism rely on private family safety nets for support? Federalism and Government Finance A survey of “fiscal federalism” and an overview of reflections on multi-level public finance with special attention to the challenging research agenda that remains. Fertility, Literacy, and the Institution of Child Labour The paper demonstrates how the institution of child labor can generate a poverty trap when fertility is driven by the need for old-age security. Filling the Gap in South Africa's Small and Micro Credit Market - An Analysis of Major Policy, Legal and Regulatory Issues The most effective way to increase availability of low-end financial services is to address a few key incentive structures embedded in the laws and regulations governing the market. This paper identifies several key constraints to responsible growth of the low-end credit market in South Africa. Financial Intermediaries, Rationing and Spillover in a Rural Credit Market in Chile: A Theoretical and Empirical Analysis Chilean agriculture provides a useful case study of the rise of new intermediary structures, the development of markets for financial contract forms, and their impact on economic growth and distribution. Financial Markets and Industrial Development: A Comparative Study of Government Regulation, Financial Innovation, and Indust This paper examines the experiences of Mexico and Brazil in the creation of modern banks and stock exchanges during the early stages of industrialization. Fiscal Decentralization and Economic Development The point of departure for my contribution to this symposium is the striking contrast in the extent of fiscal centralization of the industrialized and the developing countries Foreign Direct Investment and Corruption in China Existing literature on the connection between foreign direct investment(FDI) and corruption focuses almost exclusively on the impact of corruption in the host country on its FDI inflow. Forms of Enterprise in Kazakhstan The purpose of this paper is to provide a perspective on the historical development of current business organization laws in Kazakstan, examine and compare in general terms the Kazak Company Law and then to provide some recommendations for their improvement and continued and development in Kazakstan. Freedom of Association and Self-Selecting Groups The revolution in public economics embodied in the study of collective goods and the groups which provide them has produced essentially three paradigms of public good supply, the first due to Samuelson (1954), followed by Tiebout(1956)/ Buchanan (1965) and then Olson (1965). From Communism to Market Democracy: Why is Economic Performance Even Worse After Communism is Abandoned? Seeks to answer the question: If too much government control of the economy brought about the failure of the communist economies, why didn’t economic performance improve as communism was abandoned and government control cut back? From Socialism to Market: Changing the Rules of the Game This paper attempts to advance our understanding of institutional differences across so&tics by exploring some of the determinants of rule obedience and organizational loyalty. Gender and Corruption In this paper the authors inquire whether women have different attitudes towards corruption than men, and whether countries with more women in legislatures have lower levels of corruption. Getting Things Done in an Anti-Modern Society: Social Capital Networks in Russia While social capital networks are used to produce goods and services in every society, what is the nature of these networks in an "anti-modern" society, that is, a society characterized by organizational failure, or the corruption of formal organizations? Global Challenges and the Need for Supranational Infrastructure Dating back to Adam Smith, economists have recognized that a well functioning market system needs some government provided activities in terms of a justice system,laws,national defense,and public goods (e.g roads,schools,police). Governance and Growth: A Simple Hypothesis Explaining Cross-Country Differences in Productivity Growth Authors settle the argument that to explain why the fastest growing countries are a subset of developing countries, while at the same time having no tendency for general convergence, it is necessary to focus on the quality of governance. Governance and Growth: Measurement and Evidence Describes the gradual accumulation of indicators and evidence of the links between governance and growth, focusing on broad cross-country analyses. It discusses the need for more institutionally-specific and transparently constructed governance indicators, and summarizes progress in identifying and collecting these “second generation” indicators. Governance and the Economy in Africa: Tools for Analysis and Reform of Corruption This volume discusses the ways in which contemporary developing nations have begun to impose discipline on those holding power, and more importantly how African societities can do so more fully and on a more permanent basis. Governance and the Returns to Investment: An Empirical Investigation Focusing on the effect of two dimensions of governance--a) the degree of civil liberties and b) the political regime type and degree of political liberties--on one observable indicator of economic performance: the returns on government investment projects financed by the World Bank. Governance Aspects of the East Asian Financial Crisis The authors attempt to show how poor political governance in Indonesia and other East Asian countries, compounded by poor corporate and financial governance and inadequate international financial governance, created the financial crisis of 1997. Each type of governance is discussed in a principal-agent framework, and possible reforms are considered. Governance for Development: Policy Environment for Private Sector Development: Agro-Industry in Utta Pradesh, India Various initiatives have been taken up by the state and union government in the last four years to reform the Indian economy. Group Composition, Collective Consumption, and Collaborative Production An enduring question in the analysis of groups is: what determines their composition in terms of their individual constituents? Group Lending, Moral Hazard, and the Creation of Social Collateral This paper proposes a simple but quite general framework that is useful for analyzing the design of, and choice between, different financial intermediary structures and contract forms in a rural credit market setting. Growing a Legal System in the Post-Communist Economies Legal systems in the post-Communist economies are not well adapted to a market economy. Growth Capabilities and Development: Implications for Transition Processes in Cuba Two conceptual issues are addressed in this paper: the distinction between growth and development and the definition of the standard of living. Harnessing the Power of Incentives Before it reaches the targeted beneficiary, a development activity has to pass through the hands of many actors, each with their own objectives and idiosyncratic incentives (which may not be aligned with those of the donor). At the same time, many of these actors have skills and information that could contribute to the success of the activity. This paper lays out a series of practical steps to understand and harness incentives — and improve program effectiveness. History vs. Policy: How Much Does Enterprise Governance Change After Mass Privatization? This paper explores the determinants of the configuration of decision-making power in large enterprises immediately following a mass privatization program. How Communism Could Have Been Saved? An Unexpected Political Consequence of an Electoral Law The current analysis reconstructs the impact of the electoral law adopted by Solidaritv and PUWP2 during the 1989 Roundtable talks on the subsequent course of events. How Many Parties Will New Zealand Have Under MMP? In November 1993 New Zealanders voted to replace their venerable First-Fast-the-Post (FPP) electoral system with Mifed-Member-Proportional (MMP), a version of proportional representation (PR) based on party lists. Identifying the Free Riders: How to Partition a Group Into Positive and Zero Contributors to the Common Good This paper proposes a general algorithm for discovering with individuals in the group fall into which of these two classes. If Hamilton and Madison Were Merely Lucky, What Hope is There for Russian Federalism? The swirl of events in Russia lead in too many contradictory directions, and make it difficult if not impossible to confidently render conclusions about the future direction of events, and, in particular, the prospects for meaningful federal domestic relations. Imperfect Commercial Law and Market Augmentation in Latin America Financial markets in developing and transitional economies are largely underdeveloped. Imperfect Information, Social Capital, and the Poor’s Access to Credit This literature review examines how social capital can help reduce the cost of imperfect information in small financial transactions, and thereby improve the performance of credit delivery programs in the developing world. Import Liberization in Hungary In the following the Hungarian import liberalization experience is analyzes, and within this special attention is paid to the timing and sequencing of liberalization, to the social forces supporting and resisting the introduction of liberalization measures, and to the social consequences of structural change. Improved Relations with the Muslim World: How can the United States Reach, Help, and Enliven the Silent Majority Examining the central puzzle that confronts US policy makers in the post-9/11 world: Why is it that the people of many Muslim countries display hostility toward the United States, while their governments profess friendship? Improving Income Tax Policy and Administration in India: The Need for Institutional Reform This study utilizes a panel data analysis of Indian income tax returns to answer two critical questions. Improving the Delivery of Water and Sanitation: A Model of Coproduction of Infrastructure Services Analyzing how the performance of coproduction depends on the behavior of community memebers and civil servants administering the program, and how such behavior can be influenced by proper incentive mechanisms. Incentive Structures and Performance of Rural Financial Institutions: The case of the Philippines The purpose of this paper is twofold: (1) to develop an institutional framework for understanding incentive structures in rural financial markets; and (2) to use this framework in exploring the diverse performance of Philippine rural financial institutions. Incentives, Institutions, and Development Assistance Current thinking in development emphasizes institutions and their impact on incentives. This paper argues that a similar perspective is needed in examining development assistance. Incidence Theory, Specific Factors and the Augmented Hecksher-Ohlin Model The concepts of “true protection” and the “incidence of protection” are potentially very useful for the evaluation of commercial policy. These concepts have been developed in the context of a model in which the production functions are implicit. Income Tax Enforcement in Spain Describing the system of income tax administration in Spain, including its evolution since 1978, and providing a summary of perspectives and directions of further changes that are necessary. Indian Fiscal Federalism: Political Economy and Issues for Reform India is a federal state where the institutions of fiscal federalism have been determined by a-complex political, social and economic history, in addition to the guidelines imposed by its constitution and legal institutions. Indigenous Institutions and Industrial Development in Eastern Nigeria Nigerian industrial promotion policies in the first few postindependance decades were dominated by two main strategies: the promotion of local participation in previously foreign dominated industries, and the general protection of industries through trade policies. Induced Social Capital and Federations of the Rural Poor Poor people's organizations embody a particular and important form of structural social capital. Industrial and Trade Policy Reforms in India An overview of the steps taken by the Government of India, from 1991 to 1996, to liberalize the country’s trade and industrial policies. Industrial Organization in a Restructuring Socialist Economy: Evidence from Bulgaria Using new data for all state and cooperatively-owned Bulgarian establishments and enterprises in 1988 and 1989 we portray key aspects of Bulgarian industrial organization. Institutional Arrangements in Cattle-Raising Activities in the 19th Century American West and their Explanations Most analysis of the creation and evolution of property rights over any productive factor, such as land, capital or labor, stress the relevance of the scarcity value of the factor relative to the costs of excluding others from its use. Institutional Determinants of the Impact of Community-Based Water Services: Evidence from Sri Lanka and India An analysis of selected institutional determinants of impact and performance of community-based water services financed by three World Bank-financed projects in Sri Lanka and India. Institutional Reform and the Challenges Facing South Africa The linkage between local cultural factors and the success of development projects was the focus of a December 1992 IRIS workshop. Institutional, Economic and Organizational Basis of Military Capability This book is a compilation of analytical papers commissioned by the Department of Defense (Office of Net Assessment) to gain a deeper understanding of the social and economic bases of military development, with particular emphasis on China and other Asian states. Institutions and Economic Development The puzzles of economic development and post-communist transitions, according to Christopher Clague and his colleagues, can be illuminated by a serious economic analysis of institutions. Institutions and Economic Growth: Evidence for Postwar Europe The quarter century after World War II was a golden age of European economic growth. Institutions and Economic Performance: Cross-Country Tests Using Alternative Institutional Measures Using alternative indicators provided by country risk evaluators to potential foreign investors, this study aims to quantify the relationship between institutions, investment, and growth. Institutions and Economic Performance: Cross-Country Tests Using Institutional measures Previous attempts to analyze empirically the impact of institutions on economic performance have employed only very crude proxies of property rights, such as Gastil’s indices of political freedoms and civil liberties, and frequencies of acts of political violence. Institutions and Incentives: The Prospects for Russian Democracy The lament that Russia is at the mercy of powerful personalities contesting for the reigns of power may be accurate. Institutions and the Convergence Hypothesis: The Cross-National Evidence [RP #68] DeLong and others have shown that cross-country convergence in per capita incomes is limited to samples of currently-industrialized nations, or universal-literacy nations. Institutions, Incentives and Economic Reforms in India Essays in this volume seek to illustrate the efficacy of the new institutional approach with reference to a number of policy areas -- privatization, fiscal policy, agricultural reform, labor policy, and financial sector development. Interest Group and Provision of Public Goods: A Test of the Concavity Hypothesis This paper revisits the controversy surrounding the relationship between provision of public goods and size of provider interest group. International Commercial Transactions in the West Bank and Gaza: Model Contracts and Commentary This handbook offers guidance in crafting international business contracts in the effort of the Palestinian Legislative Council's challenge of bringing legislation up to date and strengthening the mechanisms of enforcement, such as courts and administrative agencies. IRIS Mini-Conference on The Paradoxes of Poverty “The fact that growth is a tremendous force in eliminating poverty -- is really essential is something that we have learned,” said Jagdish Bhagwati in an IRIS-sponsored miniconference held on May 27 at the State Department. In reviewing his own involvement in development work over four decades, Bhagwati described a “sea change” in development thinking over the past ten years, with the abandonment of “the notion that growth contributes to poverty.” Is Social Capital an Effective Smoke Condenser? Social capital is defined as mutual trust. It is related to production by a key hypothesis: social capital determines how easily people work together. Social capital might be a new production factor which must be added to human and physical capital, or it might enter as a reduction in either transaction or monitoring costs. Is There Life after Liberalization? Transaction Costs Analysis of Maize and Cotton Marketing in Zambia and Tanzania The paper explains the importance of marketing efficiency in an era of provatization. Keeping Accounts: A Case Study of Civic Initiatives and Campaign Finance Oversight in Argentina Allegations of widespread public sector corruption in Argentina were endemic in the 1990's and campaign finance corruption was no exception. La Fraude Douaniere au Tchad: Une Approche Pratique au Controle Ce rapport prdsente une approche pratique au contr6le de la fraude douanibre au Tchad. Labor Markets as Social Institutions in India This paper traces the evolution of labor market institutions in India since Independence. Labour Institutions and Industrial Restructuring in India This paper approaches various questions by drawing conclusions from four levels of analysis. Labour Policies, Employment & Worker Earnings: Indian and International Experiences In this paper we consider the labor market policies in East Asia and India in an attempt to understand the role that the labor laws in these countries might have played in these differing outcomes. Legal & Regulatory Reform for Access to Finance: A Policy & Programming Tool A user-friendly tool to assist USAID in identifying favorable conditions for supporting legal and regulatory reform programs designed to increase access to finance. Legal and Institutional Frameworks Supporting Accountability in Budgeting and Service Delivery Performance Malcolm Russell-Einhorn, in a chapter of the recent World Bank publication "Performance Accountability and Combating Corruption," highlights the critical need for legal and regulatory frameworks to address a number of procedural details that can help ensure more genuine and effective citizen participation in matters of budgeting and service delivery. Legal and Institutional Prerequisites of Market Reform in India The traditional attitude of international economic development research has treated the legal structure of a nation as superfluous. Lessons for Citizens of a New Democracy This manuscript is a book-length manuscript scheduled for publication (Edward Elgar Pub) around November or December of this year. Making Aid Smart: Institutional Incentives facing Donor Organizations and their Implications for Aid Effectiveness Providing seven suggestions to aid agencies on how to make aid "smarter" in order to become more effective and to demonstrate their effectiveness. Mapping and Measuring Social Capital: A Conceptual and Empirical Study of Collective Action for Conserving and Developing Wa The project described in this paper stratified villages in Rajasthan watersheds in terms of high, medium or low performance in their restoration of degraded or vulnerable common lands. Market for Public Goods? This is a critical review of a book of essays entitled “Public Goods and Market Failures,” edited by Tyler Cowen. The essays in the book argue that the private market is capable of handling many sorts of public goods and externalities problems, and that conventional theory that calls for public intervention is misleading. Market Liberalization in New Zealand: The Interaction of Economic Reform and Political Institutions in a Pluralitarian Democ During the past decade, New Zealand has undergone radical economic and political reforms. In economics, what probably the country moved from having was most protected, regulated, and state-dominated economy of any capitalist democracy to an extreme position at the open, liberal, free-market end of the spectrum. Market Modernization and Median Democracy It reports on the economic analysis of law and norms as it pertains to economic development. Market Reform and Tanzanian Agriculture: Success and Failures in a Decade of Liberalization This paper reviews the history of Tanzanian agricultural marketing policy prior to the initiation of reforms in 1984, then discusses the reforms under the headings of cooperatives, foodcrop sector marketing, traditional export sector marketing, and incentive effects of consumer goods supply. Market-Augmenting Governent? States and the Corporations in Early Nineteenth Century America This paper discusses American corporate policy in the 19th century. Market-Augmenting Government: The Institutional Foundations for Prosperity Shows how governments and markets are complementary rather than opposing forces. Market-Mobilized Capital Does commercial law reform payoff in terms of financial market development and economic growth? Markets and Legal Systems: The Development of markets in Late Medieval Europe and the transition From Community Responsibili The division of labor, and hence economic efficiency, depends on the extent of the market.Yet, for an individual to participate in market exchange he has to expect that those with whom he is exchanging will fulfill their contractual obligations. Measuring the Economic Impact of Corruption: A Survey A survey of literature on measuring corruption and empirical work aimed at specifying both the causes of corruption and the impact of corruption (and related governance variables) on economic output. Mediating Risk Through Markets, Rational Cooperation, and Public Policy: Institutional Alternatives and the Trajectories of The distribution of land in West Africa is and has traditionally been one of the most egalitarian in the world. Microfinance Regulation in Developing Countries: A Comparative Review of Current Practice Many, if not most, developing countries, have seen microfinance activity grow to the point where financial regulators need to frame a policy, and eventually to integrate some portion of the microfinance spectrum into the framework of regulated financial services institutions. This paper aims to provide the necessary comparative data and analysis to support sound regulatory policy in this field. Mongolia in Transition: The New Legal Framework For Land Rights and Land Protection It examines the new legal framework for land rights and land protection as an element of Mongolia's economic and political transition, focusing primarily on the draft law on land. Mongolia: Avoiding Tragedy in the World's Largest Commons In Mongolia 300,000 nomadic people herd 25 million animals over an unfenced area twice the size of France.Current economic theories assert that efficiency requires privatizing land until the savings from reduced congestion equal the costs of exclusion. Multiparty Representative Government A discussion and comparison of the two modes of representation as relating to the normative properties of the final outcomes of public policies, stability, and possible alienation of voters and resulting instability. Napoleon, Bourses, and Growth: With a Focus on Latin America Stock markets are not merely casinos. A growing body of research suggests that access to well-functioning stock markets helps spur economic development. Nepal: Changing Laws and Regulations to Improve Access to Credit by the Poor This report sets out several recommendations that would permit such an expansion of access to credit in Nepal. These recommendations apply to both institutions that specialize in micro-lending and to other lenders and creditors that might provide micro-credits. Non-Leaky Buckets: Optimal Redistributive Taxation and Agency Costs It provides a counter-example in a model where private information gives rise to incentive constraints. Notes on Constitutional Change in the Republic of China: Presidential versus Parliamentary Government The debate over constitutional reform has moved to center stage in Taiwan, with a focus on two issues: the choice of presidential versus parliamentary government and a determination of the ultimate role of the National Assembly. Observations on the Use of Law by Russian Enterprises An analysis of the extent to which enterprises use law and legal institutions in structuring exchange relations, completed by four specialists on the Russian economy. On the Political Foundations of the late Medieval Commercial Revolution: Genoa During the Twelfth and Thirteenth Centuries Although the late medieval Commercial Revolution is considered to be a water-shed in the economic history of Europe, the analysis of the interrelationship between political and economic systems in bringing about this period of economic growth has been neglected. On the Prospects of Legal Reform in the Kyrgyz Republic IRIS serves as USAID’s primary legislation drafting contractor in Kyrgyzstan. IRIS aims to draft and implement legislation from the Initial drafting stages through adoption of laws In Parliament. On the Role of Informal Finance in Japan Its Prototype: Mujin (Rotating Finance) and It's Public Substitute: The Postal Savi This paper studies the economic role of two contrasting financial intermediaries in Japan. On the Share of Health in GDP Showing that as incomes rise, it may be optimal for society to spend a larger share of income on health expenditures. One for All: The Logic of Group Conflict One for All is an effort to understand the sway of groups in our time. Opportunism Knocks?: Legal Institutions, Contracting, and Economic Performance in Africa The decision to exchange and enter into a contract depends on the existence of reliable institutions that can ensure compliance with the terms of contract. In other words, the nature of contracting institutions determines the transactions an individual is ready to assume. Optimal Provision of Public Goods under Costly Exclusion and Corruption Laws and rules that underlie and enhance public safety, clean environments and public goods are promulgated with the intent of promoting social welfare. Optimal Sequencing of Land and Credit Market Reforms in Developing Countries: A Theoretical Perspective This paper proves two theoretical results that serve to qualify the orthodox view that privatizing land transfer rights should (or must) precede the extension on a wide scale of the formal credit market in the rural sectors of developing countries. Options for Reform of the Business Registration System: Nepal The existing business registration system in Nepal imposes excessive information and approval burdens, and high fees. Such a system has several negative consequences to small firms, government and economic growth. Ownership and Governance on the Morning After: The Initial Results of Privatization in Mongolia This paper presents some empirical evidence on the initial effects of a mass privatization program of large enterprises conducted by the Republic of Mongolia. Panchayati Raj in India: Problems and Prospects This study is a modest attempt to understand the dynamics of decentralization and evolution of PR in India. Parallel Market for Foreign Currencies in Nepal Existence of parallel market for foreign currencies is a common phenomenon in many developing countries which are characterized by restrictive trade practices, capital control and official fixation of the exchange rate at an overvalued level. Poland: Small Business Project Outline of Recommendations The recent liberalization of the Polish economy has dramatically influenced the opportunities for private economic inrElative and laid the foundation for a radical restructuring Q an economy dominated for the past 40 years by large, state-owned enterprise. Polarization, Property Rights and the Links Between Inequality and Growth We argue that social polarization reduces the security of property and contract rights and, through this channel, reduces growth. Policy on Small Scale Industries in India and Structure, Growth and Productivity of SSI Sector Given that the development of small-medium enterprises is desirable on both allocative efficiency and equity considerations, particularly in the new technological and market scenario, what are the major policy instruments available to governments to promote the small medium sector? Policy Reform Toolkit for E-Commerce and Development Faced with binding budget constraints, how do governments in developing and transition economies identify the policy actions that can most advance their ability to compete on the global market? This toolkit offers policymakers a simple method to identify and prioritize the policy areas most likely to affect their ability to harness the Internet to develop their economies. Political Explanations of Economic Decline: Evidence from New Zealand New Zealand's protracted relative (and sometimes absolute) economic decline offers an opportunity to apply and test political explanations of economic stagnation offered by two eminent theorists, Mancur Olson and the late William Riker. Political Institutions and Economic Reform: Lessons from the Indian Experience The paper analyses India’s stabilization and structural adjustment program since mid-1991 to advance the theorizing on the politics of adjustment in democratic developing countries. Politics and Economics of Mongolia's Privatization Program While decisions on the extent and speed of privatization are still very much at the center of the politics of reform in both Eastern Europe and the successor states of the Soviet Union, in Mongolia such decisions are now largely moot. Pollution Charges as a Source of Public Revenue The existing literature in environmental economics explores the role of pollution taxes as instruments for environmental management. This paper expands the analysis to encompass their potential for improving the overall tax system. Power and Prosperity IRIS founder Mancur Olson was famous for providing simple and insightful answers to broad economic questions. His famous Logic of Collective Action first analyzed how interest groups influence and subvert public policy. Power and Prosperity, completed just before his death in 1998, takes on the broadest questions of his career: What sort of government best promotes economic well-being? How can governments best "augment" market structures? Pragmatic Solutions for Post Flood Rehabilitation in Bangladesh Small enterprises in the Dhaka area were badly damaged by the 1998 flood. This paper reviews the damage incurred in the worse effected areas around Dhaka and presents several actions that may be taken to assist these enterprises to recover from the losses incurred in the flood. Price Policy in Mongolia: A Chronology of Development A chronology of policy developments, and related facts, in one area of the transition process -- the regulation and deregulation of prices. Prices, Distribution Services and Supermarket Competition An economic function of retail institutions is to provide consumers a set of distribution services together with the explicit goods and services purchased from these institutions. Principles of Fiscal Federalism: A Survey of Recent Theoretical and Empirical Research Outling insights compiled from country experience with fiscal decentralization that would assist with the restructuring of the public sectors in “transitional” countries in Eastern Europe. Prepared for a meeting with representatives from Eastern European countries and public finance specialists. Privatization and India's Economc Reforms Despite the early success of India’s economic reform program, the public sector deficit continues to pose a major threat to the vitality of the Indian economy. Privatization in Bulgaria The policies, processes and some of the economic effects of privatization in Bulgaria are examined. The paper is organized around the main phases of Bulgarian privatization, though we focus on the fourth and still on-going period that began in the Spring of 1992. Privatization in Hungary: Ownership Changes Involving the Former State Enterprises The intention of this paper is to describe the ongoing privatization process in an analytic and rather detailed way. Privatization in the Former Soviet Union and the New Russia We present a survey of the policies, processes and results of privatization in the waning years of the Soviet Union and the first years of the independent Russian Federation. Prolegomena to the Economics of Rural Organization This paper presents an aggregative analysis of the informal sector in India. The hitherto ignored informal sector in developing societies is increasingly acquiring a central role in new thinking about development strategies. Property and Contract Rights in Autocracies and Democracies The debate on whether democratic or authoritarian government is more favorable to economic performance has been inconclusive with respect to both theory and empirical evidence. Property Rights and Residential Capitalization Rates The level of property rights associated with a dwelling has important implications for its value, as has been demonstrated in the recent literature. What has not been investigated is whether property rights have different effects on rents than on values. This paper documents this difference in the case of one city in a developing country, Cairo, Egypt. Property to the People: The Struggle for Radical Economic Reform in Russia This book focuses on the privatization of state enterprises and the opening of the Russian economy to private initiative. Rational Pricing of Electric Power in India Outlining the standards and criteria that should be adopted to evaluate electric pricing policies and determining whether electric pricing policies in India meet the standard tests of a sound pricing policy. Rationalized Bureaucracy and Rational Compliance The focus of this paper is on the relationship between the trustworthiness of the bureaucracy, citizen compliance, and economic growth. Recent Trends in Income Tax Administration in the CIAT Countries This paper reviews recent trends in income tax administration reforms in a group of countries belonging to ClAT. Recombinant Property in East European Capitalism The starting premise of this paper is that the greatest obstacle to understanding change in contemporary Eastern Europe is the concept of transition. Reform Issues in Mongolia A report on IRIS project "Mongolisa: Support for Economic Transition" and a brief survey of the Mongolian economic situation. Reforming Indian Income Tax Enforcement The purpose of this paper is to document and trace the causes of the poor and declining revenue performance of the income tax in India and to suggest measures for improvement based on a review of international experience. Reforming India's Technology Policies: Impacts of Liberalization on Self-Reliance and Welfare This paper reviews the history of India’s technology policies from independence to the present. The historical record indicates that while “self-reliance” has always been a prominent theme in India’s political arena alterations in India’s technology policies were always precipitated by foreign exchange crises. Reforms in Income Tax Enforcement in Mexico The purpose of this paper is to provide an overview of the reforms in income tax enforcement carried out in Mexico since 1983 under the Salinas administration. Reform's Rhetoric-Realization Relationship: The Experience of Mongolia The rhetoric of reform denotes the terror and the level of ambition embodied in a governments initial comprehensive statements of its approach to reform. Regional Poverty and Access to Public Services in India This study analyzes the extent of access to public social services the poor have in different regions in rural India based on the National Sample Survey data (42nd round) at the household level. Regulation and Reform of the Financial Sector in India: An Analysis of the Underlying Incentives This paper analyzes the incentives faced by the various agents under the highly regulated banking environment in India prior to 1992 and uses it to provide an explanation of the various problems facing the Indian banking system. Regulation of Payday Lenders in the United States An analysis of payday lending (PDL) transactions in the U.S., exploring the boom in PDL and the role of regulatory gaps, and current regulation and reform initiatives. Also explains the significance of PDL for South Africa's money-lending explosion. Relative Wage Structure in Chile, 1957-1992: Changes in the Structure of Demand for Schooling It is commonly hypothesized that moving from protectionism to liberalized trade will increase the demand for goods whose production is intensive in its use of unskilled labor. Rent Seeking and Rent Setting With Asymmetric Effectiveness of Lobbying Activities such as lobbying are motivated by the desire to capture economic rents. Given the potential for such rent seeking, self-interested regulators may find it profitable to create such rents, for which firms will then compete. Report on Implementation of A Secured Transaction in Bangladesh A draft of the proposed Secured Transactions Act, designed to provide a more secure lending environment in Bangladesh. The Act provides for a Secured Transaction Registry that would allow lenders to establish perfection and priority in moveable goods when used as collateral. Restructuring and Privatization of Public Enterprises in India Within the broad contours of the public sector envisaged in the context of the planned development in India, public enterprises (PEs) have been used as a major instrument of policy. Retirement, Human Capital, and the Value of Life Span Extension An examination of the effects of an extension in life expectancy on retirement, education, and human captial investment. Returns to Scale in a Highly Regulated Economy: Evidence from Indian Firms This paper examines returns to scale for a panel of large Indian manufacturing firms spanning the period from 1976 to 1985. Risk, Scarcity, and Land Market: The Uneven Economies of Induced Institutional Change in the West African Sahel This paper theoretically shows that land scarcity by itself is insufficient to induce the emergence of an active land market in a relatively egalitarian agrarian economy. Roadblock to Economic Reform: Inter-Enterprise Debt and the Transition to Markets Two American specialists on Soviet and East European economies examine the relationship between inter-enterprise payments for goods and services and economic reform in Russia. Roads with Destinations: A Case Study of Governance and Rural Infrastructure in Nepal An examination of the effort to combat endemic corruption in the rural infrastructure programs of Nepal. Robin Hood and the Redistribution of Property Income This paper develops a theoretical model in which, if the competitively determined share of wages in total product is sufficiently small relative to the effectiveness of time allocated to extralegal appropriative activities then a tax-financed wage subsidy that reduces the net income of the property owners below what would be their competitively determined share could be consistent with maximizing the net income of the propertied class. Rule Obedience, Organizational Loyalty and Economic Development This paper attempts to advance our understanding of institutional differences across societies by exploring some of the determinants of rule obedience and organizational loyalty. Russia, Federalism, and Political Stability This essay has two parts -- a text in English and one in Russian. The Russian version is a translation of a slightly abbreviated form of the English text and will be published sometime this year in Russia (Siberian Academy of Science’s Regional Economics and Sociology). Russia's Agricultural Policy Negotiations with the WTO: Are Institutional Rigidities Preventing Gains from Further Trade Lib In this paper we argue that the late start and relatively lengthy negotiations over the country’s agricultural policies have contributed to the delay of the Russia's WTO membership application. Russia's Stormy Path to Reform Russia's Stormy Path to Reform is areport of a high-level seminar held in Moscow between leading Russian, American and British thinkers and politicians to discuss the hopes, aims, constraints and possible outcomes of the reform process in the Russian Federation. Russia's Transition to Democracy: Essays 1-10 The ten essays contained herein are the first in a series of twenty prepared for translation into Russian and publication in Moscow's Independent Gazette. Russia's Transition to Democracy: Essays 11-18 The eight essays contained herein are the second Inca series prepared for translation into Russian and publication in Moscow’s Indepetrdetu Gazefre. Secured Credit for Jobs and Economic Growth Examining the weaknesses of substantive law in Bangladesh relating to movable property financing. The report outlines concrete policies that would improve the legal climate for movable property financing law. Secured Finance for SMEs in Bangladesh Modern secured finance mechanisms offer a powerful means of mobilizing the value of a broad range of capital as a loan security, and thereby creating profitable opportunities for a wide spectrum of potential users and providers of financial services in Bangladesh. Secured Transactions Law: Best Practices & Policy Options An overview of best practices in promoting commerce through wider access to business and consumer credit, including four strategies necessary in a well-crafted secured transactions law. Sequencing of Economic Reforms in the Presence of Political Constraints Several prestigious economists, such as Guillermo Calve, Vittorio Corbo, Sebastian Edwards, Stanley Fischer, Jacob Frenkel, Arnold Harberger, Anne Krueger, and Ronald McKinnon have argued for sequencing market-oriented reforms (such as macroeconomic stabilization and trade liberalization) in a particular order. Should Foreign Aid Finance Private of Public Investment? The paper examines from the welfare point of view whether it is better to give aid for private or public investment. Recently there has been discussion in bilateral and multilateral aid agencies on whether foreign development assistance should be directed to private instead of public sector invcstmcnt projects in order to promote welfare in the recipient countries and to accelerate their move towards self-reliance. Social Capital and Development Capacity: The Example of Rural Tanzania Which came first, economic development or cultural change? The usual paradigm would appear to order causality as in the title of the periodical economic development leads to changes in attitudes and behaviours. Social Capital and Group Lending: Evidence from Joint Liability Seed Loans in Zambia’s Southern Province Does social capital reinforces incentives for repayment of collective loans of seeds in Zambia? The results presented here suggest that some factors facilitating collective action within seed groups, such as its size, are associated with higher repayment performance. Social Capital and Poverty Paul Collier investigates the concept of social capital from an economic perspective. He suggests that social capital is 'social' because it generates externalities arising from social interaction, and it is 'capital' only if its effects persist. Social Capital and Rural Development: A Literature Review This paper reviews selected issues relating to rural development, including common property and risk management, productivity, marketing, and vertical relations. A conclusion draws upon the positive as well as negative experiences with social capital in rural development. Social Capital and the Firm: Evidence from Agricultural Trade Social capital is seldom used in the modeling of economic production processes. However, the returns to social capital in a real world with transaction costs might be as important as to labor and physical or human capital. Social Capital in Solid Waste Management: Evidence from Dhaka, Bangladesh This paper seeks to identify the role played by social capital in the private, community-based provision of a public good, in this case, trash collection. Social Capital, Growth and Poverty: A Survey and Extensions This paper surveys the major contributions to the rapidly growing empirical literature on social capital and economic performance, focusing primarily on cross-country approaches. Social Capital: Conceptual Frameworks and Empirical Evidence--An Annotated Bibliography This paper reviews the major contribution to the conceptual and empirical literatures on social capital and offers more than 30 summaries of seminal works. Social Capital: The Missing Link? It has now become recognized that the "traditional" types of capital (natural, physical and human) determine only partially the process of economic growth because they overlook the way in which the economic actors interact and organize themselves to generate growth and development. Some Basic Ways Good Law, Good Legal Institutions, and Sound Principles of the Rule of Law Can Help Augment Markets A summary of the elementary rudiments of how contract law and related law, good in form and good in content, can help augment markets in developing economies. Some Economic Aspects of TRIPs This paper discusses the economics of intellectual property rights (II%) in the context of the Trade Related Intellectual Property Rights (TRIPS) Agreement of the Uruguay Round. Some Surprising Analytics of Rural Credit Markets Throughout the developing world, governments and international donor agencies have focused on rural credit subsidies as a primary instrument of agricultural development and, allegedly, aid to the small farmer. Specialization and Co evolution of Agricultural Markets The study focuses on the evolution of agrarian labor markets with a view toward building up a coherent theory explaining some pervasive patterns in developing countries. Subsistence Agriculture in Russia: Representation of an Informal Sector in a Formal Economic Model It analyzes the role of subsistence-oriented agriculture in Russia in the 1990s. Successful Economic Development and heterogeneity of Governmental Form on American Indian Reservations While it is clear that the institutions of governance matter crucially to the economic development of reservations, there is a wide variety of institutional and constitutional forms among even successful reservations. Sufficient Conditions for Rapid Convergence Showing how poor countries that follow four basic policies—trade openness, protecting property right, investing in human capital, and controlling inflation—converge rapidly to the living standards of rich countries. Systematic Planning for Export Marketing: A Must For Bangladesh's SMEs World markets are diverse, dynamic and competitive. Exporters in developing countries do not stand a chance to enter them without careful preparation and planning. Lack of just such preparation and planning is a major reason for the stagnation in export growth in many otherwise promising sectors in Bangladesh. Firms seeking to export to international markets must have a thorough and well-planned entry strategy and implementation plan before targeting any new market. Taking Trade Policy Seriously: Export Subsidization as a Case Study in State Capabilities In thinking about policy, academic economists alternate between theoretical models in which governments can design finely-tuned optimal interventions and practical considerations which usually assume the government to be incompetent and hostage to special interests. Tax Amnesties in India: An Empirical Evaluation The purpose of this paper is to provide empirical estimates of the revenue impact of Indian income tax amnesties between 1965 and 1993. Tax Incidence in African Economies - Evidence from Cote D'Ivoire This paper discusses tax incidence in African economies, reporting incidence results from a numerical general equilibrium tax model for Cote D'Ivoire. Tax Structure and Revenue Instability Under External Shocks: Some General Equilibrium Calculations for Cote D'Ivoire The paper presents some general equilibrium calculations for Cote d'Ivoire which explore the significance of tax structure for the relationship between external shocks and revenue instability. Technological Change, Imperfect Markets, and Agricultural Extension: Overview It has long been recognized that the adoption of a more productive technology is facilitated by a complex institutional framework, including property rights, credit and insurance markets, and extension services. The Allocation of Publicly-Provided Goods to Rural Households in India: On Some Consequences of Caste, Religion and Democracy Drawing on characteristics of India's institutional structure and the implications of existing literature to address the question: What determines the allocation of publicly-provided goods to rural households in India? The Chadian Private Sector During the course of its post-colonial history, Chad’s private sector has been characterized by its resiliency under extreme difficulties. The Corruption Nexus and the People’s Republic of China: Current Thinking on Causes and Consequences A volume of research findings originally presented to the Department of Defense (Office of Net Assessment) on the impact of corruption on China’s economic, social, and political development. The Culture of Policy Making In the Transition From Socialism: Price Policy in Mongolia Outlining some of the basic features of Mongolian price policy: dissonance within and among policy measures; a proliferation of price controls, controllers, and arguments in favor of controls; and spontaneity and decentralization of controls. The Design of Decision Making: A Study in Economic Administration with Special Reference to Indian Economic Reform Decision-making structures in economic administration-can assume a variety of forms. The Distribution Sector in a CPE: Cuba An examination of the distribution sector in Cuba, a centrally planned economy, placing emphasis on description, synthesis and interpretation rather than on analysis, a necessity due to the nature of the topic and the state of the literature. The Economic Role of Government: Managing Rent-Seeking This paper adopts an approach to rent-seeking which allows for such behavior, and therefore assumes that government may in fact be susceptible to rent-seeking because it is made up of self-interested individuals, but at the same time assumes that there might be others in authority who seek to mitigate the adverse consequences of rent-seeking. The Economic Role of Government: Property Rights, Externalities and Mechanism Designs This paper provides a discussion of the role of government as arbiter of property rights. The Economic Role of Government: Reform as a Mechanism Design Problem Economic Reform in many countries now mean the establishment of well functioning markets. Yet the government must manage the process of reducing its own role in certain ways. The Economics of Autocracy and Majority Rule: The Invisible Hand and the Use of Force Suppose that the leader of a group of roving bandits in an anarchic environment can seize and hold some territory. If the bandit leader becomes a settled ruler with a definite and secure domain. The Economics of Retailing: Perspective and Prospective Providing a perspective and prospective view of three aspects of the economics of retailing: selected relevant trends, analyses of broad features of retailing institutions, and analyses of narrowly defined characteristics of retailing activities. The Economics of Rural Organization, Published for the World Bank The Economics of Rural Organization explains the economic institutions, contractual arrangements, and technological constraints found in rural land, labor, and credit markets. The Effects of R&D, Foreign Technology Purchase, and Spillovers on Productivity in Indian Firms This paper is an abridged version of the authors' working paper at the United Nations University Institute of New Technologies (UNUINTECH) in Maastricht (Basant and Fikkert (1993));and Rakesh Basant acknowledges with thanks the financial and other support he received from UNU-INTECH. The Effects of Social Capital on Technology Adoption: Evidence from Rural Tanzania This paper develops and tests a model of technology adoption which predicts that the probability of adoption is increasing in household-level human capital and land endowments and village-level adoption patterns and social capital. The Emergence of Market Economies in Eastern Europe In this volume, a number of leading Western economists offer a comprehensive overview of all aspects of the economic problems facing Eastern Europe. The Executive Branch A discussion of the problem and possible institutional solutions involving the definition of the executive branch in the constitution. The Food Corporation of India: Successes and Failures in Indian Foodgrain Marketing This paper evaluates the role and performance of the Food Corporation of India in Indian foodgrain marketing. The Forgotten Rationale for Policy Reforms: The Productivity of Investment Projects Using economic rates of return from World Bank-funded investments to investigate how country characteristics and policies that influence aggregate performance affect investment productivity. The Hazard Rate of Political Regimes Political instability has long been an issue of interest among social scientists. There is widespread consensus that political stability is a necessary condition for growth and prosperity. The Health and Medical Sector in India: Potential Reforms and Problems The economic reform process begun in India in 1991 has not significantly affected the health sector. The Impact of Ownership on the Grameen Bikas Banks' Current and Future Performance Under funding by USAID/‘Nepal through the IRIS project, a team of consultants was hired from December 1996 to February 1997 to assess the performance of the majority governmentowned Grameen Bikas Banks (GBBs) in Nepal, and to determine whether a change in their ownership might make them more effective. The consultancy team consisted of two members:Dr. Muzammel Huq, General Manager of the Grameen Bank in Bangladesh, and Mr. Peter BUVIIZ, economist and financial analyst from SRI International in the United St The Impact of Urban Land Taxation: The Pittsburgh Experience Land value taxation occupies a curious place in the lexicon of public finance. It has long and rich history both among tax theorists and among reformers who have extolled its properties on grounds of economic efficiency and equity. The Importance of Institutions in Long Term Growth The Informal Sector in Chad This report is based on secondary sources, interviews in Chad and in Washington D.C., and participation in the "Seminaire sur la Promotion du Secteur Prive au Tchad." The Initiation of New Democratic Institutions in Eastern Europe and Latin America Much has been written about a possible incompatibility between democracy and economic liberalization, on the one hand, and democracy and the cultural legacy left by forty years of Leninist rule in Eastern Europe, on the other. The Interactions of Donors, Contractors and Recipients in Aid Projects Examining the roles of contractors, donors, and recipients in foreign aid programs and suggesting the applications of existing theories to the successful organization of foreign assistance. The Land Market in Pre-Industrial Society: England and Wales, 1540-1837 It is widely believed that land in pre-industrial societies was sought for status and political power as well as for material returns. The Lens of Contract: Applications to Economic Development and Reform This paper examines economic development and reform through the lens of contract. The Local Variability of Rainfall and Tribal Institutions: The Case of Sudan This paper develops and tests hypotheses relating rainfall variability to two aspects of tribal institutions: the degree of commonality in property rights and the degree of centralization or hierarchy. The Logic of Collective Action Professor Olson's influential work challenged a prevailing assumption about group behavior, namely, that people instinctively or naturally act on common interests, so inaction needed to be explained. Olson raised the issue of the "free rider problem," and discussed how the proper incentives could overcome it. Historical examples serve to support his theory. The Nature and Performance of Small Firms in Bulgaria Using new survey data for small private, state and cooperative manufacturing firms we find overall the Bulgarian small firm manufacturing sector probably is quite well developed compared to 0ther former socialist economies; The Nepal Stock Exchange - A Review The New Issue Guidelines outline the Exchange policy on the conduct of public share issues by either listed or potential listed companies.The scope of the guidelines adopted extends well beyond its usually intended objectives and addresses issues pertaining to listings and prospectus requirements. The New Institutional Economics and the Cuban Economy Combining several literary aspects on transaction costs, property rights, and public choice in an effort to answer the question: What is the economic function of an institution? The New Institutional Economics Approach to Economic Development — An Analytic Primer By aligning the incentives of agents with the interests of principals, and improving information flows about actions and outputs can improve outcomes. Using Williamson’s hierarchy of institutions, the author introduces several conceptual ideas and theoretical insights from the New Insitutional Economics. The Nexus between Violent Conflict, Social Capital and Social Cohesion: Case Studies from Cambodia and Rwanda This paper explores the depletion and restoration of social capital in two war-torn societies, Rwanda and Cambodia, which are among the worst cases of genocide. The No-Growth Society A panel of scientists, economists, and planners consider ways of channeling development for the improvement rather than destruction of the environment. The Optimal Number of Governments for Economic Development An examination of how replacing "broad, deep" governments with "shallow, narrow" governments increases stability and reduces corruption. The Outputs of Retail Activities: French Evidence Developing a new economic framework for the empirical analysis of retail margins. This framework seeks to formalize the role of distribution services as outputs of retail activities. The Political Economy of Food Pricing: An Extended Empirical Test of the Interest Group Approach The proposition that industrialized countries implicitly subsidize their agricultural producers while less developed ones discriminate against them has pained widespread acceptance by agricultural economists and political scientists. The Political Economy of Privatization in India Why has privatization not made much of a headway in India? This paper attempts to answer this question and in so doing it explores the political economy aspects of the privatization process in India. The Political Economy of Under investment in LDC's A simple model of political economy is constructed to capture the following view: Owners of sector-specific factors form lobbies and influence the government policy to lighten their own tax burden even if it means a decline in public investment. The Political Foundations of Democracy and the Rule of Law Why are some societies characterized by welt-defined. stable individual rights and others not? Why are constitutional provisions easily evaded or ignored in some societies and respected and binding in others? The Political Foundations of Modern Economic Growth, England 1540-1800 Did political changes in Britain in the late seventeenth century create a stable property rights regime that established the pre-conditions for the Industrial Revolution? The Politics of Nuclear Power in Japan and the United States In this paper we attempt to explain the differences in the outcomes of utility regulation in two advanced countries, the United States and Japan. We find that in Japan, national regulation serves to subsidize electric utilities and electrical-equipment manufacturers. The Pure Theory of Unemployment Insurance: Hoping for the Worst When Insurance is Available Frequently, a resource owner can sell some or all of his endowment at a fixed price in good times, but be cut off from his market entirely in bad times. The Relationship Between Economic Growth and the Speed of Liberalization During Transition Usding exisiting results, examining the simultaneous relationship between growth and speed of liberalization during transition. The Relationship Between Legal Reform, Donor Aid, and International NGO Development in Transition Economies An explanation of the growth and legal impact of NGOs by disentangling the contributions of economic forces, donor aid, and the legal environment in the so-called “transition” econ-omies of Eastern Europe and the Former Soviet Union. The Rise and Decline of Nations The second half of the twentieth century saw rapid shifts in the relative positions of different countries and regions. In this book, Mancur Olson brought forth a new and compelling theory to explain these shifts in fortune, and tested the theory against evidence from many periods of history and many parts of the world. The Role of Informal Finance in Household Capital Accumulation: Evidence from Taiwan The emergence of Taiwan as an industrial economy is one of the most striking phenomena of recent economic history. The Role of State Governments in Fiscal Adjustments In this paper, an attempt is made to identify the problem areas in States’ revenue and expenditure policies and suggest policy changes needed to improve fiscal management in the States. The Second Theorem of the Second Best This paper interprets many results from the literature on incentive compatibility and cost-benefit analysis as illustrations of a second theorem of the second best. The theorem states that if there exists any restriction on transactions required for first-best efficiency, then there is no presumption that a social welfare maximum entails equal marginal social utilities of income across individuals. The Transformation of Socialist Economies: Alternative Approaches and Early Lessons of Experience The paper describes three approaches to the strategy of the transition from socialism to a market economy: the rapid privatization strategy, the evolutionary school, and the government planning approach. The Transition to Republican Government Democratic republics are founded on the idea that th epeople must rule. But of central concern to the founding and maintenance of such republics is the manner in which the people accomplish self rule. The Varieties of Eurosclerosis: The Rise and Decline of Nations Since 1982 Valuable as tehy are, conventional economic models have not succeeded in explaining the great differences in economic performance in different countries or historical periods. Towards an Independent and Accountable Judiciary: Report on Judicial Reform in Madagascar I wish to express my gratit.dde to the IRIS Center for having given me the opportunity of undertaking this study, in particular to David Fagelson, who was in charge of the project and provided useful comments on an earlier draft. Towards Collective Action for State Funding of Elections? A Comparative Perspective on Possible Options This paper explores the issue of state funding for elections in India with a collective action perspective, focusing on the incentives for political behavior created by various political reforms. Trade Intensity, Country Size and Corruption Providing evidence of significant selection bias in the decisions of investor rating agencies to rate countries, and that the empirical relationship between smaller country size and better governance may merely be a reflection of selection bias, rather than a causal relationship. Trade Liberalization: Winners and Losers, Successes and Failures: Implications for SMEs Identifying the types of trade liberalization policies, providing a summary of experience, and designating six of the obstacles to trade liberalization . Trade Protection in India: Economics vs. Politics? This paper investigates economic and political determinants of protection across the secondary (manufacturing) sector. Transition, Constitution-Making, and Separation in Czechoslovakia This paper considers the constitutional developments in Czechoslovakia and the two successor states, the Czech and Slovak Republics. Trust and Growth A presentation of a general equilibrium growth model in which an assortment of agents transact and face a moral hazard problem. Two Essential Characteristics of Retail Markets and Their Economic Consequences Incorporation of two characteristics into the analysis of retail markets generates novel results on the nature of pricing policies, on their interaction with the provision of distribution services, and on the effects of competitive behavior. Two-Party Representative Government Discussion and compareison of two modes of representations and an analysis of the specific procedures used to best achieve the relative advantages of each system. Understanding and Measuring Social Capital: A Synthesis of Findings from the Social Capital Initiative A simple conceptual framework for apprehending the concept of social capital. Also includes a synthesis of the SCI studies, which have shown, using quantitative as well as qualitative analytical approaches, that social capital can have a major impact on the income and welfare of the poor by improving the outcome of activities that affect them. Understanding Rural Institutions A discussion of the importance of institutions and instututional arrangements for agricultural and rural development, illuminating how one may approach institutional analyses in the rural section. Urban Informal Credit in India: Markets and Institutions This study presents an analysis of urban informal credit in India. Unlike the better studied rural credit markets, focus on urban informal credit markets is relatively recent, a result of the increasing documentation of the diversity and large size of such credit in most of the poor economies. Utility Regulation, Economic Development, and Political Stability: The Contrasting Cases of Argentina and Chile Healthy, lasting economic development cannot be achieved in the absence of long-run capital investment. Warr Neutrality and the Natural Egalitarianism of Voluntary Public Good Provision One of the more intriguing discoveries in economics in recent years is the result, due to Peter G.Warr(1983) and foreshadowed and developed by others of "neutrality": the finding that "when a single public good is provided at positive levels by private individuals, its provision is unaffected by the distribution of income". Water and Federalism: India's Institutions Governing Inter-State River Waters Analyzing the process of resolving inter-state water disputes in India. Emphasizing the role of complementary investments, and the need to expand the scope of bargaining. What Determines the Effectiveness of Community-Based Water Projects? Evidence from Central Java, Indonesia, on Demand Respon Why have some water services financed by community-based water projects succeeded, and why have others failed? To address this question, quantitative and qualitative data were collected in Central Java, Indonesia from 44 villages with water services that were funded by such projects. What Determines the Effectiveness of Community-Based Water Projects? Evidence from Central Java, Indonesia, on Demand Responsive Examining the performance and impact of water services financed by community-based water projects in Central Java, Indonesia associated with demand-responsiveness and existence of mechanisms to monitor household contributions to construction and operations and maintenance. What Does Social Capital Add to Individual Welfare? The purpose of this paper is to test the instrumental significance of social capital empirically. Wheeling, Dealing, Stealing and Appealing: Bases of Voting in the Brazilian Congress This paper begins with a puzzle. Brazil's legislature ought to be active. The system is presidential; the electoral system is decentralized and candidate-centered. Which Enterprises (Believe They) Have Soft Budgets after Mass Privatization? Evidence from Mongolia To ascertain the prevalence of soft budgets and to find causes of softness, we surveyed 251 privatized Mongolian enterprises, asking whether state aid was expected when financial difficulties arose. Why Are Prices So Low in America? A well established empirical finding is that rich countries tend to have high national price levels. Why Don't Poor Countries Catch Up? A Cross National Test of an Institutional Explanation Since 1952 scholars have advanced the hypothesis that poorer countries should grow faster than richer ones. Why Don't Poor Countries Catch Up? A Cross-National Test of an Institutional Explanation Using various indicators of institutional quality, including the rule of law, the pervasiveness of corruption, and the risk of expropriation and contract repudiation, to show that the ability of poor countries to catch up is determined in large part by the institutional environment in which economic activity in these countries takes place. Working on Legal Culture Changes in Kyrgyzstan: Drafting Practical Commentaries on Civil Code From the time that Alfred Lord Maine spoke of the need to modernize the legal and political culture of India from one of “status” to one of “contract,” Western lawyers and legal scholars. Worsening Relative Wage Dispersion in Chile During Trade Liberalization: Supply or Demand Driven Inequality Determining the path, trends and causes of the wage gap between more and less educated workers. Zambian Laws Affecting Microfinance: Review and Recommendations for Reform Microfinance institutions (MFIs) have emerged around the world in response to the need for deeper financial service provision in developing economies. Typically, not only are laws outmoded and sometimes detrimental to the responsible growth of microfinance services, but there is also much confusion regarding the need for supportive legislation.
	Home   Contact & Directions   Employment   Intranet   Search   ©2005 IRIS Center at the University of Maryland. All rights reserved.
	Powered by WolfeReiter Bedrock System™.