Mexico's Private Toll Road Program Reconsidered
Mexico's private toll road program of 1989-1994 is famous both as one of the first and the most ambitious highway privatization programs among the developing countries and as one of the most dramatic
Research
In Health Care, Fee-for-Service Means too Many Services
Imagine if, at the height of the Great Society, Lyndon Johnson had given older Americans a right to free economic advice — to help them plan for retirement, say — and paid for it on a fee-for-service
Barrels, Bushels, Bonds Take Global Economy for a Ride
The prices of hydrocarbons, minerals, and agricultural commodities have been on a veritable roller coaster.
The Curse: Why Natural Resources Are Not Always a Good Thing
It is striking how often countries that are rich with oil, minerals or fertile land have failed to grow more rapidly than those without. Angola, Nigeria and Sudan are all awash in petroleum, yet most
The Rise of the Renminbi as International Currency: Historical Precedents
All of a sudden, the renminbi is being touted as the next big international currency. Just in the last year or two, the Chinese currency has begun to internationalize along a number of dimensions.
Internationalization of the Renminbi: What Does History Tell us About the Precedents?
Just in the last year or two, the Chinese currency has begun to internationalize along a number of dimensions. A RMB bond market has grown rapidly in Hong Kong, and one in RMB bank deposits.
Fuel Tax Incidence and Supply Conditions
In this paper, we provide new evidence regarding the pass-through of diesel and gasoline taxes to prices, and how the estimated pass-through depends on a variety of supply conditions including a measu
Informal Taxation
Informal payments are a frequently overlooked source of local public finance in developing countries.
How Can Commodity Producers Make Fiscal and Monetary Policy Less Procyclical?
Book abstract: Countries with an abundance of natural resources, many of which are in sub-Saharan Africa, often show a record of relatively poor economic performance compared with non-resource-rich co
A Blue State Bailout In Disguise
Last Thursday, the president urged Congress to pony up roughly $200 billion in taxpayer money to "provide more jobs for teachers [and] more jobs for construction workers" and more money to carry out o
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