Even before the controversy over MPs’ expenses broke, earlier this year five Anglican bishops attacked the last 10 years of government for being lacking moral direction and increasing the gap between rich and poor. So what, you might say – their market share is hardly increasing is it? And in its highly regarded forecast of The World in 2009, The Economist predicted that as the global recession...

The press routinely reports extraordinarily large government deficits, mainly consisting of interest costs, for countries experiencing high rates of inflation. For example, the New York Times reported that in 1993 Brazil’s government deficit was 30 percent of the country’s gross domestic product (GDP). Most of this deficit was accounted for by interest costs. In the late 1980s, less dramatic bu...

The people have been promised more than can be promised; they have been given hopes that it will be impossible to realize ... The expenses of the new regime will actually be heavier than the old. And in the last analysis the people will judge the revolution by this fact alone-does it take more or less money? Are they better off? Do they have more work? And is that work better paid? All Politica...

We model agents’ incentives to invest in production of export goods when governments are commitment constrained with respect to their trade obligations. Once irreversible investments have been undertaken, the governments have incentives to renegotiate the tariff rates to higher values. The renegotiations are costly; the greater the tariff rate adjustment, the greater the expenses. We find that ...

will allow foreigners to establish medical institutes in the Free Economic Zone, which includes the Korean cities of Busan, Jinhae, Incheon, and Kwangyang. Physicians and dentists with a license from a foreign country will be allowed to practice in those institutes, and treat Korean patients. The government anticipates that this policy will reduce the expenses of medical travel, improve service...