We investigate the effects of IMF stabilization programs, and the reasons behind the unusually high IMF activity and relatively low program completion rates in Latin America. We base our tests on a panel, and distinguish between IMF program approvals and completion. We find that Latin America has higher output costs of IMF programs (especially when completed), no improvement in the current acco...

Donors who try to impose policy conditionality on countries receiving their aid commonly face con‡icting incentives between using aid to induce income-increasing reforms and using aid to assist low-income countries: this con‡ict can lead to a time-consistency problem. This paper o¤ers a contractual analysis of conditionality, showing how conditionality contracts are a¤ected by con‡icting donor ...

Cytotoxin production was studied in 60 Serratia marcescens strains isolated from hospitalized patients. Association of cytotoxic activity with serotype, source of isolation and presence of plasmids was also evaluated. Thirteen of the 60 S. marcescens strains produced a cytotoxic effect on Vero cells. These strains were isolated from distinct clinical sources and classified into seven different ...

Recent research has underlined the efficiency of the GATT/WTO rules from the standpoint of politically motivated governments, emphasizing that the current multilateral rules are capable of delivering a politically efficient equilibrium. Such an equilibrium is, however, economically inefficient. Global free trade, in particular, is generally unattainable even in a fully cooperative world, provid...

We explore the relation between international financial integration and the level of entrepreneurial activity in a country. Using a unique firm level data set of approximately 24 million firms in nearly 100 countries in 2004 and 1999, we find suggestive evidence that international financial integration has been associated with higher levels of entrepreneurial activity. Our results are robust to...

We explore the relation between international financial integration and the level of entrepreneurial activity in a country. Using a unique data set of approximately 24 million firms in nearly 100 countries in 1999 and 2004, we find suggestive evidence that international financial integration has been associated with higher levels of entrepreneurial activity. Our results are robust to using vari...