The issue of whether government capital is productive has received a great deal of recent attention. Yet, empirical analyses of public capital productivity have been limited to a small sample of countries for which official capital stock estimates are available. Building on a new database that provides internationally comparable capital stock estimates, this paper estimates the dynamic effects ...

Crowding on urban mass transit systems is common in both developed and developing countries. A roundtable report by the International Transport Forum identifies crowding as a major source of inconvenience that increases the generalized cost of travel (OECD, 2014). Crowding occurs not only while riding buses and trains, but also when boarding and alighting from them, when purchasing tickets, whi...

The majority of OECD countries has experienced a reduction in the volatility of output during the last two decades. This period is also characterized by the liberalization of the capital accounts of these countries. This paper examines whether capital markets liberalization can lead to lower macroeconomic volatility. We study a business cycle model with multiple countries and financial market f...

905 National Tax Journal Vol. LIX, No. 4 December 2006 Abstract This paper considers what it might mean to describe the VAT as a “money machine,” tests whether it is one, and asks if it might consequently be wise not to adopt it. We fi nd broadly persuasive evidence, using panel data for the OECD, for a “weak form” of the money–machine hypothesis: that countries with a VAT raise more revenue th...

This article provides a broad historical and conceptual overview of the evolution of legislative roles in budgeting, and assesses the potential consequences of expanded roles. By analysing country budget institutions and practices, the article proposes ways to establish sound relationships between the executive and legislative branches of government.

Population aging is not a looming crisis of the future—it is already here. The ultimate impact of population aging on our standard of living in the future depends a great deal on how long people choose to work before they retire from the labor force. Here there is reason for optimism. In this paper we document the striking shift in the U.S. population age distribution well under way, identify t...

The paper proposes a new test of endogenous vs. exogenous growth theories based on the Granger-causality methodology and applies it to a panel of 20 OECD countries. The test yields divergent evidence with respect to physical and human capital. For physical capital, the test results favor Solow-type exogenous growth theory over AK-type endogenous growth models. On the other hand, the test result...

Pursuant to Article 1 of the Convention signed in Paris on 14th December 1960, and which came into force on 30th September 1961, the Organisation for Economic Cooperation and Development (OECD) shall promote policies designed: − to achieve the highest sustainable economic growth and employment and a rising standard of living in member countries, while maintaining financial stability, and thus t...

Today, agriculture remains the most distorted sector of the world economy. Therefore, agricultural liberalization in the Doha negotiations is rightly the top priority. But the public-policy discourse on the subject remains fogged by a number of fallacies. These fallacies probably originated with the leadership of the World Bank but have now been embraced by the IMF, OECD, Oxfam and the leading ...

Modern cities turn increasingly into functional areas seeking for a balance between agglomeration forces and urban quality of life. This paper will address the issue of sustainable urban development from a quality (performance) perspective. It aims to identify the critical access factors for the highest possible quality (XXQ) of the urban Peter Nijkamp XXQ Factors for sustainable urban developm...