London School of Economics and Political Science

About: London School of Economics and Political Science is a education organization based out in London, United Kingdom. It is known for research contribution in the topics: Politics & Population. The organization has 8759 authors who have published 35017 publications receiving 1436302 citations.

The World Technology Frontier

Abstract: We define a country's technology as a triple of efficiencies: one for unskilled labor, one for skilled labor, and one for capital. We find a negative cross-country correlation between the efficiency of unskilled labor and the efficiencies of skilled labor and capital. We interpret this finding as evidence of the existence of a World Technology Frontier. On this frontier, increases in the efficiency of unskilled labor are obtained at the cost of declines in the efficiency of skilled labor and capital. We estimate a model in which firms in each country optimally choose from a menu of technologies, i.e. they choose their technology subject to a Technology Frontier. The optimal choice of technology depends on the country's endowment of skilled and unskilled labor, so that the model is one of appropriate technology. The estimation allows for country-specific technology frontiers, due to barriers to technology adoption. We find that poor countries tend disproportionately to be inside the World Technology Frontier.

The Limits of Delegation: Veto Players, Central Bank Independence, and the Credibility of Monetary Policy

Abstract: Governments unable to make credible promises hinder economic development and effective policy making. Scholars have focused considerable attention on checks and balances and the delegation of authority to independent agencies as institutional solutions to this problem. The political conditions under which these institutions enhance credibility, rather than policy stability, are still unclear, however. We show that checks – multiple veto players – enhance credibility, depending on the extent of uncertainty about the location of the status quo, on how agenda control is allocated among the veto players, and on whether veto players have delegated policy making authority to independent agencies. In the context of monetary policy and independent central banks, we find evidence supporting the following predictions: delegation is more likely to enhance credibility and political replacements of central bank governors are less likely in the presence of multiple political veto players; this effect increases with the polarization of veto players.

New financial alternatives in seeding entrepreneurship: microfinance, crowdfunding, and peer-to-peer innovations

Abstract: New financing alternatives, such as microfinance, crowdfunding, and peer-to-peer lending, have expanded rapidly. To date, few studies have investigated the antecedents and consequences of these financing mechanisms. This special issue provides an academic foundation for understanding new financial options that entrepreneurs can now use to start and grow ventures. In the introductory article, we integrate strands of the literature on emerging innovations in entrepreneurial finance and provide a framework for a systematic approach to new research questions. We conclude with a discussion of the six papers in the special issue and demonstrate how they contribute to the framework.