Empirical evidence suggests that the differences in rates of technical progress across sectors are time-variant, implying that the bias in technological change is not constant. In this paper, we analyze the implications of this nonconstant sectoral biased technical change for structural change and we assess whether this is an important factor behind structural transformations. To this end, we d...

Technological latecomer countries face a dilemma,they need to pursue pro-active industrial policies to compensate for manifold disadvantages vis-à-vis established competitors, but at the same time, due to neopatrimonial politics and capacity constraints, their institutions are rarely in a position to correct market failure effectively. Do the risks of misallocation outweigh the benefits and sho...

Using data from a randomized control trial in Sri Lanka, this paper explores whether cash and in-kind grants helped microenterprises approach the productivity level of SMEs. The paper first estimates production functions and subsequently treatment effects on TFP levels. Most significantly, more able and more risk-averse owners benefit from the larger in-kind grant. Also, the larger in-kind gran...

The demographic transition that swept the world in the past 140 years has been identified as one of the prime forces in the transition from stagnation to growth. The unprecedented increase in population growth during the early stages of industrialization was ultimately reversed. The rise in the demand for human capital in the second phase of industrialization brought about a significant reducti...

Jovanovic and Nyarko (1996) showed that when agents learn-by-doing and are myopic, less advanced agents may adopt new technologies while more advanced ̄rms stick with the old technology since the new technology takes time to learn. In this case, the less advanced agents might eventually overtake (or \leapfrog") the advanced agents. We show that this kind of overtaking can also occur if agents ar...

This research suggests that the evolution of entrepreneurial spirit played a signi…cant role in the process of economic development and the dynamics of inequality within and across societies. The study argues that entrepreneurial spirit evolved non-monotonically in the course of human history. In early stages of development, the rise in income generated an evolutionary advantage to entrepreneur...

This paper presents three new patent-based indicators of internationalisation of technology reflecting international cooperation in research and the location of research facilities of multinational firms. They witness both an increasing trend towards the globalisation of technology in the OECD area and large cross-country differences in the extent of internationalisation. An empirical analysis ...

This paper studies the impact of trade liberalization in terms of tariff cuts within the Eastern European enlargement on German and Austrian firm productivity. Unique matching of data from 1994 to 2003 suggests that tariff reductions raise parent firm productivity significantly. A ten percentage point decrease in tariff rates can lead to total factor productivity gains of up to 2 percent. The d...

Abstract Background Acute appendicitis remains one of the most common diagnoses in emergency general surgery, with recent evidence from COMMA trial confirming that appendicectomy is cornerstone definitive management patients. With a wide range severity and patient physiology, complications are burden to patients health service. We hypothesised liver function tests have predictive value for foll...