Contracting Institutions and Development

The quality of contracting institutions has been thought to be of second-order importance next to the impact that good property rights institutions can have on long-run growth. Using a large range of proxies for each type of institution, we find a robust negative link between the quality of contracting institutions and long-run growth when we condition on property rights and a number of additional macroeconomic variables. Although the result remains something of a puzzle, we present evidence which suggests that only when property rights institutions are good do contracting institutions appear also to be good for development. Good contracting institutions can reduce long-run growth when property rights are not secured, presumably because the gains from the (costly) contracting institutions cannot be realised. This suggests that contracting institutions can benefit growth, and that the sequence of institutional change can matter.Economic development, institutions.

Finance and Growth: A Critical Survey

We present a survey of the finance-growth nexus that raises a number of qualifications to the mainstream interpretation. Doubts regarding empirical consensus are investigated and we consider the prevalence of cross-section econometrics as dominant in shaping the present theoretical consensus. To facilitate a quantitative understanding of the theoretical literature we develop a model capable of capturing a number of key conclusions from theoretical research. The core implications of many finance and growth theories are shown to be disconnected not only from their modern empirical counterparts, but also from the historical literature.finance and growth, endogenous growth, economic history.

Institutions and the Scale Effect

Growth models which imply a scale effect are commonly refuted on the basis of empir?ical evidence. A focus on the extent of the market as opposed to the scale of the country has led recent studies to reconsider the role that country scale plays when conditioning on other factors. We consider a variant of a simple learning by doing model to account for the potential role for institutions in determining the strength ¨C and direction ¨C of the scale effect. Using cross-country data, we find a significant interaction between property rights institutions and the effect of scale on long-run growth: In countries with poor prop?erty rights institutions, scale is positively related with income per capita; where property rights institutions are good, higher scale is associated with lower per capita incomes. We find no evidence of such role for contracting institutions.Scale and growth, learning by doing, institutions.

Efficiency, Depth and Growth: Quantitative Implications of Finance and Growth Theory

We develop a parsimonious finance and endogenous growth model with microeconomic frictions in entrepreneurship and a role for credit constraints. We demonstrate that though an efficiency-growth relation will always exist, the efficiency-depth-growth relation may not. This has implications for the connection between the theory and empirics of finance and growth. We go on to ask whether the model can account for some historical trends in growth, financial depth and financial efficiency for the UK over the period 1850--1913. The best model of finance and growth is one that departs from the standard depth-growth link.finance and growth, endogenous growth, economic history.

Transaction costs and institutions: investments in exchange

This paper proposes a simple model for understanding transaction costs – their composition, size and policy implications. We distinguish between investments in institutions that facilitate exchange and the cost of conducting exchange itself. Institutional quality and market size are determined by the decisions of risk adverse agents and conditions are discussed under which the efficient allocation may be decentralized. We highlight a number of differences with models where transaction costs are exogenous, including the implications for taxation and measurement issues

Transaction costs and institutions: investments in exchange

This paper proposes a simple model for understanding transaction costs – their composition, size and policy implications. We distinguish between investments in institutions that facilitate exchange and the cost of conducting exchange itself. Institutional quality and market size are determined by the decisions of risk adverse agents and conditions are discussed under which the efficient allocation may be decentralized. We highlight a number of differences with models where transaction costs are exogenous, including the implications for taxation and measurement issues

Transaction Costs and Institutions

This paper proposes a simple framework for understanding endogenous transaction costs - their composition, size and implications. In a model of diversification against risk, we distinguish between investments in institutions that facilitate exchange and the costs of conducting exchange itself. Institutional quality and market size are determined by the decisions of risk averse agents and conditions are discussed under which the efficient allocation may be decentralized. We highlight a number of differences with models where transaction costs are exogenous, including the implications for taxation and measurement issues.Exchange costs, transaction costs, general equilibrium, institutions..

Noise characteristics of passive components for phased array applications

The results of a comparative study on noise characteristics of basic power combining/dividing and phase shifting schemes are presented. The theoretical basics of thermal noise in a passive linear multiport are discussed. A new formalism is presented to describe the noise behavior of the passive circuits, and it is shown that the fundamental results are conveniently achieved using this description. The results of analyses concerning the noise behavior of basic power combining/dividing structures (the Wilkinson combiner, 90 deg hybrid coupler, hybrid ring coupler, and the Lange coupler) are presented. Three types of PIN-diode switch phase shifters are analyzed in terms of noise performance